Through it All
by Arwennicole
Summary: Two former Rangers' paths collide again.
1. Chapter 1

Through it All

By

Nicole

Summary: Two former Rangers' paths collide again.

Through it All

Chapter 1: The Date

It was another calm day in Silver Hills, to Commander Eric Meyers, it has been way too quiet for his liking. He turned another corner and Wes glanced at his partner. "Don't we have Ryan and Bryers on this route?" he asked. Eric scoffed.

"As if I trust them to actually keep an eye on this road," he replied.

Wes just smirked as he sat back in his seat, but then he realized what road they were on. "We have been going on this road at least once every day," he commented.

"So?" Eric asked, "Too many people speed around this corner."

"Like a certain yellow ranger from Turtle Cove?" Wes suggested.

Eric kept his eyes on the road. "I doubt it," he answered.

"Ah ha! You look for her though," Wes replied.

"I am not," Eric said firmly.

Wes just smirked and sat back. "You're looking for her," he teased lightly.

"I am not," he replied, "She's in Turtle Cove, shouldn't I be in Turtle Cove searching for her?"

"You're still hoping to have a repeat," Wes insisted.

Instead of letting his friend's words annoy him more, he turned on the radio and turned it up. All the while, Wes was just smirking and laughing to himself.

It had been two years since the Time Force Rangers teamed up with the Wild Force Rangers to stop the MutOrgs. Now that their dangers were gone, they had gone on with their normal lives. Well, as normal as they could be.

Two days later, Eric was walking down the street heading over towards his car with a plastic shopping bag with food for his birds. He was checking the meter to see how much time he had to decide if he had time to make another stop, not noticing a group of women walking in his direction. "I don't know why you are being so stubborn Taylor Lynn," a woman scolded angrily.

"Let's keep in mind that I haven't worn a dress since my senior prom and since I have to wear a dress, I would rather have one that doesn't make me look like a cake topping," a familiar voice said angrily.

Recognizing the voice, Eric looked up and he saw a person he hadn't seen in over two years. She looked annoyed, walking with a group of women and she had her arms crossed over her chest. "That dress looked beautiful on you, with the right hairstyle you'll look like…" the woman started to say.

"A china doll," Taylor said sarcastically.

Eric tossed the bag into his car. "Earhardt!" he called out, making her stop.

Taylor froze when she heard that voice, she hadn't heard it in over two years and she slowly turned to look. There he was, Commander Eric Myers, standing there wearing dirty ripped jeans, and black shirt. She was quite aware that her mother, sister, and their friends staring at her. "Myers? What are you doing here?" she asked. She glanced at her mother and saw her glaring dagger at Eric before her piercing blue eyes landed on her daughter.

"You know this man?" she demanded.

Taylor's mind was racing, glancing at Eric as she rushed up to him. "Play along," she told him. Before he could ask, Taylor turned back to her mother.

"Mom, this is Eric Myers, he's going to be my date for Henry's wedding," she replied.

Her mother looked at Eric with narrowed eyes. "Him?" she asked, "Is this some sort of joke?"

"No," Taylor replied.

Eric moved his arm around her waist. "You didn't tell me Henry was getting married," he commented.

"Well you have been out of town," Taylor replied.

"Yeah, well, you know, my chicks needed attention," he commented.

"Ah ha, always the charmer," she commented before elbowing him in the stomach.

"So, dinner tonight? You on?" he asked.

He saw the relief in her face. "Right! Mom, I completely forgot, but Eric and I had a date set up tonight," Taylor told the woman.

"A date?" Carol Earhardt asked.

"Yes," Taylor replied.

"While he's dressed like that?" Carol asked.

Eric cleared his throat and Taylor just shrugged her shoulders. "It's casual," she replied.

"You guys go have fun," Camilla, the bride, put in smiling.

Camilla tugged on Carol's arm. "We have an appointment remember?" she asked her will-be-mother-in-law.

"Yes, we shouldn't be late," Carol replied reluctantly.

Camilla gave Taylor a wink before walking away. Once they were out of their sight, Taylor stepped away from Eric. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Starving," she replied before they walked down the street.

They ended up finding a diner and sat down at an open table. "Thanks for playing along," she commented. Eric shrugged his shoulders.

"I had a minute," he answered, earning a glare from the blond.

"And all your chicks don't mind?" she asked.

"Real chicks, Earhardt, the feathered kind." He replied.

Taylor stared at him curiously. "You have birds?" she asked.

"A couple of them," he replied.

She was intrigued, but then she sighed. "Look, I was just trying to get my mom off my ass. She has been bugging me since my brother got engaged because she's been wondering who I will bring as my guest to the wedding," she explained, "So, don't think you're obligated to come." Eric sat back with his arm resting on the back of the chair next to him.

"Nah, I'll go, it beats just sitting at home staring at my wall," he replied.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "So dramatic," she commented.

"No I mean staring at my wall, I'm in the middle of putting up a wall in my place because I had added an extra room," he explained.

Eric gestured to his clothes. "Hence why I look like a homeless person," he added.

"You remodel?" she asked.

"Just my trailer, don't think I do that for a living," he replied.

Taylor frowns. "You live in a trailer?" she asked. Her expression annoyed him.

"I live there by choice," he replied, "I like my trailer, no one bothers me."

The waitress came over with water and they nodded to her and she left them alone again. "What's with your mom? She walks like she has a stick up her ass," he commented. Taylor almost choked on her water and laughed behind her hand.

"That's just how she is, she's all about "the best"," she replied.

"Ah, and I am obviously not "the best" to her and she only talked to me for a few minutes," he commented.

"She'll grill me about you later," she answered.

Eric just smirked before the waitress came back and they ordered their food.

Later, they were leaving the diner together when Taylor started looking through her phone. "What are you looking for?" he asked.

"The number to call a cab," she replied.

"Why? I'll just give you a ride home, it's not far," he insisted.

Taylor frowned. "At least let me pay for your gas," she answered. Eric waved his hand as they walked towards his truck.

"It's a company truck, Mr. Collins reimburses gas payment son it," he assured her.

She followed him to his truck, they climbed in, and Eric drove off towards Turtle Cove.

Throughout the ride, they were able to catch up a little more about what they were up to. He was glad to hear that she was a pilot again and she wasn't surprised that he was still all about his job. They pulled up to her apartment complex and Taylor got out of the truck. "Thanks, Myers," she called out before closing the door. Eric waved at her and watched as she turned and walked away.

Taylor entered the apartment and looked around. "Alyssa?" she called out, closing the door. The apartment was silent, which meant Alyssa was out on another date with Cole. She sat down on the couch and reached for her book when her phone rang. "Why do the heavens hate me?" she muttered. Taylor flipped open her phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"You didn't think I was going to let you go off with a guy like that and not ask questions did you?" Camilla answered.

Taylor let out a sigh. "I was hoping to avoid them," she admitted. Camilla chuckled on her end of the phone.

"Who's Eric?" she asked teasingly.

The blond rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. "He was just a guy that I worked with once," she replied.

"And he's your plus one to the wedding?" Camilla asked.

"Well, it was something to tell my mom," she replied, "She's just looking for Mr. Billionaire Future Son-In-Law for me."

"Oh I know, it's all she talks about," Camilla agreed.

Taylor rubbed her forehead. "He's cut," Camilla added. The other woman scoffed.

"Please, he's a stubborn son of a bitch," she muttered, "And a hothead and has the biggest ego I had ever seen in a person."

"Yeah, I wonder who that is," Camilla answered sarcastically.

Taylor sat up. "I am not a hothead," she insisted.

"So you're a stubborn son of a bitch and have a big ego," Camilla quipped.

"Shut up!" Taylor answered.

Camilla was laughing on her end on the phone. "I hear wedding bells in Lieutenant Earhardt's future," she teased. Taylor scoffed again.

"Not if I can help it," she replied.


	2. The Wedding

Chapter 2: The Wedding

The Carlyle home was beautiful with guests showing up in their black stretch limos, driving up the road and stopping at black gates that had the Carlyle family crest before the gates opened and the limos would drive through.

Upstairs in his office, Edwin Carlyle, Camilla's father, was pouring a drink into a glass, and offering the glass to Mr. Collins. "Thank you, Edwin," Mr. Collins told the man. Edwin poured himself a drink. Mr. Collins held his glass up. "A toast to your family, now that it's growing a little bit bigger today," he commented.

"I'll drink to that," Edwin answered.

"Ready to meet the harpy?" he asked.

"Edwin, come now, it can't be that bad?"

"Reserve your judgement until you've actually met her, Allen. You should hear her talking to her daughter Taylor. She's a wonderful young woman, but in the eyes of her mother, she can do nothing right. Though Camilla says her plus one should stir up some fun if he actually shows up. Carol barely met him, but hated him at first sight." Edwin explained.

"Oh, he's showing up. Don't tell anyone, but he's actually a friend of Wes's." Mr. Collins commented.

Edwin looked surprised as the two men went downstairs to join the guests. "Really?" Edwin asked, "According to Carol the young man looked 'homeless'." Now Mr. Collins was laughing.

"Eric is anything BUT homeless," he answered.

Edwin couldn't help but be impressed. "Eric's practically another son of mine, Wes practically drags him to our home at least once a week for dinner as much as Eric hates it," Mr. Collins commented. Suddenly, Edwin's piercing blue eyes went wide.

"Well, don't look now, but here comes the harpy," Edwin commented.

Mr. Collins looked up as Carol walked over. The man couldn't believe a woman would be tacky to wear a dress that sparkled more than the lights in Vegas. "You must be, Allen Collins," she commented, "I'm Carol Earhardt, Henry's mother." Mr. Collins shook the woman's hand.

"Pleasure," Mr. Collins answered.

Carol looked around the party. "I heard your son was on the invitation as well," she commented.

"He was, but unfortunately Wesley had a prior engagement," Mr. Collins replied, grateful for Edwin's warning.

"But we send the invitations out early to prevent prior engagements already being made." Carol insisted.

"The date to the opening of the new orphanage was set 2 years prior when the plans were being drawn up." Mr. Collins explained to the woman.

Carol frowned, seeing that she wasn't going to win this one. "Well, that's a shame, I was really hoping to introduce him to Taylor," she commented.

"Maybe next time," Mr. Collins answered, "Oh, excuse me."

Mr. Collins made his way towards Camilla's mother. "Rachel!" he called out. Rachel turned around and smiled.

"Allen, thank you so much for coming!" Rachel said smiling, embracing the man.

"Camilla is a beautiful bride," he answered.

"It's hard to believe she's all grown up," Rachel commented tearfully.

Taylor was sipping on her champagne, watching her brother and new sister-in-law sway across the dance floor. She saw something out of her peripheral and looked over, what she saw almost made her drop her glass. "Myers?" she said in disbelief.

Eric looked at her and smirked. "Hey, Earhardt, nice dress," he commented. Taylor looked at the dress and let out a sigh.

"Yeah, sure, if you're a fan of lace," she replied as she fixed the invisible wrinkles in the skirt.

The Quantum Ranger's eyes were trained on the blond as she put her empty glass on a tray before grabbing another one. "Besides what are you doing here? I told you not to come," she answered.

"No you told me I didn't have to come," he pointed out to her.

"Well, how did you find out where this place was?" she asked.

Eric gestured to Mr. Collins. "Mr. Collins was invited, plus even if not for him this wedding was plastered all over the newspapers. You can't help BUT know where it is," he replied. Looking over, he saw Carol staring with a glare. Walking up to Taylor, he moved in next to her. "How about, we piss your mom off with at least one dance?" he asked. Taylor looked over to see Carol glaring and smiled at Eric.

"You dance?" she asked.

"I went to the same prissy school as Wes. Etiquette was a mandatory class." He replied.

Now the former Wild Force Ranger was amused. "Alright, show me your moves then," she told him. Eric took Taylor out onto the dance floor and the next song started up. Taylor was pretty impressed; she was able to follow Eric's lead quite flawlessly.

"You should be looking like you're having fun than surprised that I'm even here, because your mom might think something's up," he commented, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Like I care what my mom thinks. My goal for tonight is to get drunk and forget all the guys she's been pushing my way." She answered.

"Well it's a good thing that Wes isn't here then," he commented.

Taylor couldn't help but feel relieved at that statement. "Good, because I'm sure my mom would've been insisting on us being matched up," she answered.

"What is it with that old bat and playing millionaire matchmaker?" he asked before he spun her in a circle.

"She believes that because she took care of us, it's our responsibility to meet and marry rich people and take care of her now," she replied.

Eric glanced at Carol, who was fuming and crossing her arms over her chest. He couldn't help but feel amused by the fact the woman reminded him of a pouting toddler. "She forced us into everything, etiquette classes, dance classes, beauty pageants," she ranted. Eric faltered at the last one.

"Wait, you were in beauty pageants?" he asked.

Taylor put on her fake best smile with her hands on her hip. "Miss Turtle Cove 1993," she said in her best fake valley girl voice. He just stared, she couldn't read his expression.

"I don't know whether to laugh or cringe," he admitted.

"Cringe, always cringe," she answered before they were dancing again, "My mom put all the money away for my big wedding day, but instead I pissed her off and donated all of it to a children's hospital."

Now he was smiling again, this sounded more like Taylor than being a beauty queen. "When she demanded to know why I did it, my answer was they needed it more than me," she added.

"Well, how thoughtful of you," he answered as the song ended.

"Yeah, sixteen years of beauty contests and beauty pageants and I hated every. Single. Minute," she added.

Eric gestured to the table and she nodded, following him through the crowd. "She got really mad when I joined the Air Force," she commented.

"It's an honorable job, it's why I started liking you in the first place," he answered as he handed her a glass of champagne.

Taylor rolled her eyes. "Trying to suck up to me now?" she asked.

"Nope, trying to see if you wanna escape this party and go have a few real drinks?" he replied.

The blond smiled and grabbed her bag. "Let's go," he told her. She grabbed his arm and they hurried out of the reception.

Carol had seen them leave and her eyes went wide. "George, why aren't you doing anything?" she demanded her husband. George Earhardt looked over and saw his daughter running out of the reception hall.

"She's twenty-seven, what's the problem?" he asked.

"The problem is our daughter is running off with a homeless person!" Carol answered before she started rushing through the crowd, "TAYLOR!"

Edwin and Mr. Collins watched Carol chase after the two of them. "This is probably the most eventful wedding reception I have ever been to," Mr. Collins commented.

Outside, Eric was pulling on his helmet when he grabbed his leather jacket off the back, handing it to her. "What's that for?" she asked.

"If I crash you're not going to rip yourself apart on the asphalt," he replied.

Taylor pulled the jacket on before grabbing the extra helmet, pulling it over her head. "TAYLOR!" Carol shouted as Eric started the bike. Taylor immediately jumped on the back with her arms around Eric's waist.

"Go, go!" she insisted.

Eric revved the bike, keeping one foot planted on the ground, the bike's tires shrieked on the blacktop. Bypassing all of the other cars that were parked around the bike. Revving the engine again, he sped down the hill right past Carol. "TAYLOR!" Carol screamed at her daughter.

Carol was fuming as Yvonne ran over to her mother. "The nerve of that girl, humiliating her brother on his special day," she hissed.

"She's selfish, momma," Yvonne answered.

Carol crossed her arms over her chest. "All that beauty wasted!" she exclaimed, before walking back into the reception. Yvonne stood there and glared at the direction her sister had gone before going back into the reception hall.


	3. The Bar

Dedication: I want to thank AshleyHammond/Astro Yellow because witout her this chapter wouldn't have existed because she helped me write it! Please go read and review her work she's amazing!

Chapter 3: The Bar

Taylor felt so free as they sped down the highway. The irony, he scolded her for speeding when they first met now he was going as fast as the bike would let him through a traffic jam.

They stopped at a bar and Taylor got off the bike first. "That was a rush," she commented as she set the helmet on the back of the bike.

"Wes let me borrow it," he answered, "Think it got to your mom?"

"Well at least she didn't try to chase us in her Louboutin heels," Taylor commented.

Eric grinned at her and walked into the bar. He waved at the bartender as he was making his way up to the bar and gestured for him to pour two shots. By the time they settled themselves on two barstools, the drinks were waiting for them with the bottle to refill them. Eric saluted the bartender with his drink and poured it down. Taylor followed suit.

"How did you manage him to trust you with the bottle?" Taylor asked and Eric filled up their glasses again.

"The bar is right on the edge of Silver Gardians' patrol area. We keep trouble off his doorstep and in return, the first drink is on the house," Eric shrugged. "Plus, he knows I'm good for it or he just sends the bill to Wes."

Taylor laughed and she downed another shot. "And Wes doesn't complain?"

"After the times I hauled his drunk ass home from here? Nah, he owes me."

"Wes? Really? He doesn't seem the type."

"Only on the anniversaries of his goodbyes to Jen."

"Falling in love sucks. It only brings pain. I think I'm better off alone," Taylor grinned.

"I'll drink to that," Eric laughed.

Halfway through the bottle, Eric and Taylor were crying from laughing so hard at the people using the karaoke machine. The bartender walked over and held out his hand. Without much thought Eric handed over the keys to Wes's bike. Taylor gave him a look. "He'll call us a cab when we're ready to leave," Eric explained. From the corner of his eye he noticed the karaoke machine being vacated and wiggled his eyebrows at Taylor. "Bet ya a hundred you don't have the balls to sing a song to the crowd."

Taylor's eyes shone, the alcohol in her system blocking all sensible thoughts. "You're on, Myers."

She hopped off the barstool and walked over to the machine, swaying her hips for good measure. Grinning when the perfect song caught her eye; Sit still, Look Pretty by Daya. Men at the bar started howling at her as she made a show of it, still in her bridesmaid's dress. When she looked over at her companion, she noticed his eyes had darkened.

The song finished and the men at the bar were yelling for more, but she purposely made her way over to the bar again. "Cough up, Myers," she grinned, holding out her hand. To her surprise, Eric dug the money out of his wallet and it was far from left empty.

They both downed two more shots without a word. Then Taylor looked over at the man sitting next to her. "So, Myers, I couldn't help but notice that look in your eyes just now. Liked what you see?" she teased.

As she was watching, his eyes darkened again and a low growl rumbled in the back of his throat. He took a quick look around the bar and she followed his example. No one was paying them much attention. Her eyes fell on the bathrooms in the back. When she looked back at Eric, she noticed he was having the same train of thoughts.

They didn't know who had taken who's hand, but suddenly Eric was pulling her to the back of the bar and she let out an uncharacteristic giggle. The bathroom smelled of urine, vomit and stale beer, but neither of them cared. Eric had Taylor pressed up against the wall, pinning her there with his body flush against hers. His lips left a hot trail down her neck. She buried one hand in his hair, gripping it tightly, while the other travelled down his back to cup his butt.

His arousal pressed against her and she ground her hips against him. It had been a while and she really wanted to feel him now. The sounds coming from Eric's throat only had her more turned on. "What are you waiting for, Myers?" she complained.

Eric pulled away from her and she was about to protest when she spotted the small vending machine on the wall. Eric fumbled with it for a moment, but then held up a condom triumphantly.

"Good thinking."

He was all over her again a moment later. Taylor struggled with his belt and fly, the alcohol having taken much of her coordination in her inebriated state. His pants and boxers dropped to the floor. When he got the condom rolled on, Eric hitched her up against the wall. Taylor felt his slide her panties aside, not having the patience to even take them off.

She cried out as he slammed into her. Eric grunted in her ear with every thrust and she continued to cry out her pleasure. At one point her dress caught on something and Taylor heard it tear. A small thought in the back of her mind cried out in triumph over her mother, a tear was the perfect reason she would never have to wiggle back into this dress again. It was pretty, but not for her.

The sound of Eric's grunts changed and Taylor felt her own pleasure mounting. After a few more trusts she felt her orgasm hit and bit down on Eric's neck to muffle the sounds of her ecstasy. Eric continued thrusting into her and growled his own release a minute later.

They allowed a few moments of close embrace to linger while they caught their breath. Then Eric pulled away to dispose of the condom. Taylor fixed her clothes as best as she could. She caught Eric's eye again while he pulled his boxers and pants back up. For a second they stood frozen.

Eric continued to fix his clothes and grabbed Taylor's hand again. "Let's call that cab."

The next morning, Taylor groaned as the world started to return to her. Her head was pounding and the light burned her eyes even through closed eyelids. The sound of retching reached her ears. It took a few long moments for it to come to mind that meant she wasn't alone. Only then did her state of undress register. She went to sit up but then she realized her head was still throbbing and laid back down with her hands over her eyes. "Shit," she grunted. She felt around for anything to pull on than just lying in bed completely naked. "I wanna die," she muttered. She heard the toilet flush and someone walked out.

"Well, I think I'm a step closer to death," Eric's voice answered as he walked pulled the blinds closed.

She had her hands over her eyes. "Myers, what the hell did we do?!" she exclaimed. Eric covered his ears.

"Fuck, not so loud Earhardt," he answered, "You're going to kill me. From our state of undress and the way this room looks like a war zone, I'd say we got drunk and had wild sex."

Taylor cracked open an eye and got a good look at Eric's bare asscheeks as he was fishing around for his boxers. "Oh God…" she muttered.

"I'm sure that was said a few times," he commented as he pulled his boxers on and stood up.

She threw his pillow at his head and he easily caught it. "Well, looks like this dress has seen better days," he commented. Taylor opened her eyes and she saw that the entire side of the dress was torn. "I've got something you can wear," he informed her, tossing one of his shirts and a pair of sweatpants on the bed. Taylor grabbed the shirt and quickly pulled it on.

"Do you remember anything?" she asked.

"Arriving at the bar, it's blank after the first few shots." He replied.

"Great," she said with a sigh.

She started searching the floor for her underwear. Eric, now fully dressed, held them up to her and she snatched them back. "Thanks," she muttered as she pulled them on.

"Come on, let's eat," he answered.

"No thank you," she told him.

"If you want to get rid of the hangover quicker, food is the best medicine," he called out before going down the hall.

Taylor glared in his direction but sighed as she got out of bed.

Reaching the kitchen, Eric was already cooking what she could only describe was a big greaseball. "I'm gonna puke," she muttered.

"The only bathroom is the one in my room," he answered.

"Why do you only have one bathroom?" she asked.

"Because I'm only one person," he replied.

Taylor rubbed her head and Eric placed water and Excedrin on the counter. "Wanna go for round two?" he quipped. Her answer was throwing the bottle at his head.

"Not. Funny," she answered.

They were silent as he placed the plates on the counter and started eating. The silence was deafening and he glanced at her. "Look, Earhardt..." he started to say.

"No, I get it, Myers. You showed up at my brother's wedding and helped me piss off my mom and you actually got something out of it too. We're even and it's not happening again." She said angrily.

Now he was frowning by what she was accusing him of. "I didn't come to your brother's wedding with any intention of waking up with you in the morning, Earhardt. And indeed, it won't happen again. This was a monumental bad idea fueled by too much alcohol." He agreed. Taylor's eyes grew wide.

"Shit!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he asked.

Taylor looked at him. "I'm not on any birth control," she replied, "Oh God what if we didn't use anything?"

"Don't worry, I spotted used condoms in the bathroom's trash." He replied.

"Condoms?! As in more than one?" she asked.

"Looks like we've gone around more than a few times," he replied simply.

Taylor cringed. "How many did you find?" she asked.

"Three. Since it's not happening again, I guess we made the most of it." He replied.

She was silent as Eric took another bite of his food. "I'll bring your clothes back," she assured him. He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's whatever," he replied simply.

They finished their food in silence.


	4. The Unwanted Date

Chapter 4: The Unwanted Date

Back in her apartment, Taylor was laying on her bed with her arm resting over her middle as she was listening to the clock in her room tick away. Her hair was wet from the shower she had taken, her uniform sat in the dirty clothes basket, taunting her that she had to get them cleaned. Eric's clothes taunted her in the back of her closet and she knew she had to bring them back to him. First task though, she had to see her family.

Getting off her bed, she walked over to her closet and started going through her clothes. "Taylor?" Alyssa called from the other side of the door.

"Yeah," Taylor replied.

Alyssa walked in to see Taylor looking at a black cocktail dress. "Family dinner?" she asked.

"As always," Taylor replied with a sigh as she tossed a nice pants suit on the bed.

Taylor hung the dress back up. "What's up?" she asked.

"You left your phone here when you went to your brother's wedding," Alyssa replied.

"And?" Taylor asked.

"It rang all night long," Alyssa replied.

The blond raised a brow at her. "And I know we have that rule about not going into each other's rooms while the other is gone…" Alyssa started to say.

"You didn't think about going to Cole's?" Taylor asked.

Her friend's eyes grew wide and she thumped herself on the forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" she muttered, making Taylor smirk, "Why was your phone going off so much anyways?"

"Probably my mother," Taylor replied as she pulled off the t-shirt she was wearing, revealing the yellow bra she had on underneath as she grabbed her white button down shirt.

Alyssa's cheeks went red and turned around. Taylor shook her head and pulled the shirt on. "Why would your mom blow up your phone so much?" she asked.

"I ran off with Myers during the wedding reception," Taylor replied as she buttoned up her pants.

Now the other girl spun back around. "Myers? Eric Myers?" she asked.

"Do we know another Myers?" Taylor asked.

"What was he doing there?" Alyssa asked.

"He knew one of the guests at the wedding and I may have inadvertently invited him as my date," Taylor replied.

Alyssa stared at her in disbelief. "He saw me walking with my mom and called out to me, I took my chance and told my mom that we're together," Taylor added.

"So you went to this wedding with Eric," Alyssa answered.

"No, I went to the wedding, he showed up," Taylor corrected her.

Alyssa sat on the edge of her bed as Taylor pulled her hair back in a half-ponytail. "So, because I ran off with Myers at the reception, I know my wonderful mother is going to have a few words to say at dinner tonight," she added.

"Could you just skip it?" Alyssa asked.

"And then have my phone ring for days? I'd rather not," Taylor replied, "I like to preserve the battery life to my phone."

"Wait... Did you just say you ran off with Myers? And you were gone all night?! What did you do?" Alyssa asked.

"Him, apparently. I woke up in his bed and there were condoms in the trash. Oh and the bartender of the bar our last memories take place at alluded to us having a go at it in the bathroom there too." She added.

"Taylor!" Alyssa exclaimed.

"What?" Taylor asked, "What can I say? I was drunk, it had been a while and I don't remember a single thing."

"Taylor!" Alyssa exclaimed again.

"It won't happen again, okay. We were both very clear in that." She replied.

Taylor let out a deep breath as she finished getting ready. "All right, time for Hell," she muttered as she grabbed her purse.

Arriving at the Earhardt home, she saw a car she didn't recognize and groaned. She got out of her car, walking up to the front door. She knocked and waited patiently, letting out a sigh when the door opened and the maid stood there. "Well, you're new," Taylor commented.

"I'm Bonnie," the girl answered smiling brightly.

Taylor put on her best fake smile and the maid let her in the house. "Nice to see that you do keep to other family plans, Taylor," Carol commented as she walked in. Taylor pulled off her jacket, handing it to Bonnie who immediately scurried away to hang it up.

The house looked more like a Greek museum than a home. There was a big, white marble statue right at the end of the white marble stairs. The rails were black with gold trim, which only made Taylor roll her eyes. "I see you redecorated," she commented to Carol.

"Yes, isn't it beautiful?" Carol commented proudly.

Then Carol looked at Taylor's outfit. "Lovely, as always," she commented sarcastically. Taylor gave her mother a sarcastic smile as her mother walked over and kissed her cheek. "Glad to see you made it and left the charity at home," she added.

"Charity?" Taylor asked as she reluctantly followed her mother through the house.

"You know what I'm talking about, Taylor Lynn, that homeless man you tried to pass off as your date at your brother's wedding. Speaking of the wedding…" Carol commented.

Taylor crossed her arms over her chest. "Here we go," she muttered.

"You were very rude to leave the reception last night. You missed an important, wonderful family moment," Carol answered.

"And what was that?" Taylor asked.

The door burst open and Yvonne strut inside like the Queen of England. "My wonderful, doting daughter, it's so wonderful to see you!" Carol said happily, kissing Yvonne's cheek. Taylor did everything to keep herself from gagging. "Show your sister," Carol insisted to Yvonne. Yvonne walked up and showed Taylor the ring on her left hand.

"Elliot proposed at the reception!" she said happily.

Taylor looked at the ring, which more looked like a rock with the huge diamond and sapphires all over it. "See what you missed?" Carol asked.

"Yeah, congratulations, Yvonne. I hope you and Elliot will be very happy," Taylor answered.

One of the servants entered the den. "Mrs. Earhardt, the salad course is ready," he informed her.

"Of course, come on girls," Carol called to her daughters.

Yvonne walked behind Carol, reminding Taylor of a baby chick that trails behind its mother. She rubbed the back of her neck, letting out a sigh as she went after them.

At the dinner table, Taylor saw a guy standing there waiting by Taylor's seat. He was tall with dark hair and dark eyes, she was pretty sure her mother picked this one just because of how she saw Eric's dark hair and eyes. "It is a shame that Henry and Camilla couldn't take a later flight," Carol said with a sigh. Then she saw the young man. "Oh how rude of me! Taylor this is Brian Jenks, his father works with your father," Carol commented.

"It's a pleasure," Brian commented, taking Taylor's hand.

Taylor gave him a nod and fought a cringe as he kissed her hand. She pulled back, wiping her hand on her shirt once Brian's back was turned and he pulled out her chair. "Pleasure is all mine," Taylor replied as she took her seat.

"Your mother tells me that you're in the army?" Brian asked.

"Air Force," Taylor replied, "I'm a pilot."

"It was a branch that started with an A," Carol said sarcastically.

Taylor shot her mother a glare. "Most parents are proud that their children are serving," she commented.

"Those parents don't know the meaning of the word 'proud'," Carol answered.

Taylor put her fork down. "Tell me, mother, what's your definition?" she asked.

"We have guests, now is not the time," Carol answered.

Taylor frowned and ate more to her salad.

Dinner was served, Yvonne and Carol were going on and on about the wedding while Taylor just silently ate and she was very well aware that her date kept glancing at her. She had to fight the urge to not give the guy a snide remark, but at the same time, he was annoying her with his constant staring.

Finally, she got up from the table. "Taylor, where are you going?" Carol asked.

"I'm just going to clear my plate," Taylor replied, leaving the dining room before Carol could object.

Entering the kitchen, Taylor placed her plate in the sink and pressed her hand against her forehead. "What a nightmare," she muttered, letting out a sigh as she leaned back against the counter.

"Well, that was a little awkward," Brian commented as he entered the kitchen.

Taylor raised her brow at him. "Just a bit," she answered. The guy smiled, but Taylor didn't like his smile there was something about it that bothered her.

"I heard that you ran off during the wedding reception?" he asked as he put his dish in the sink.

"Yeah well, you had to be there to understand," she replied.

She suddenly had the feeling of Brian trying to get closer so she moved a little further from him. "So what did my mother tell you about me?" she asked, trying to keep a distance between them.

"Nothing I hadn't already said," he replied as he stood in front of her.

Taylor suddenly felt uncomfortable. "Could you just back up a little?" she suggested.

"What? A little uncomfortable?" he asked as he put his hands on the counter to block her in.

"A little isn't the way I'd describe it," she replied.

Brian leaned in a little more. "Maybe you'd like to be entertained by a real man that has more to offer than some homeless charity case?" he suggested as he moved one hand from the counter to her thigh. Taylor smacked his hand away.

"Stop touching me," she ordered.

"Playing hard to get I like that," he commented as he reached for her leg again.

Taylor gripped his hand and twist it to where she heard the bones start to pop in his wrist. He let out a grunt of pain and Taylor released his arm, moving away from him. The man gripped his arm, looking at his wrist that was beginning to swell up. "You should get that looked at," she commented as she went towards the kitchen door. Brian walked over and grabbed Taylor's shoulder, about to throw her up against the nearest wall when a large butcher knife was suddenly at his throat.

"You will walk out of her with more than a broken wrist if you don't let Taylor go," the cook, Arnold, said angrily.

Brian let Taylor go and she left the kitchen after that.

Walking through the dining room, Taylor saw Bonnie walking down the stairs. "Bonnie, my jacket, now," she ordered.

"And where are you going, young lady?" Carol demanded.

"Home, I'm not going to stand here and be felt up by another creep you hooked me up with," Taylor replied as Bonnie rushed over with her jacket.

Carol glared at Taylor with her arms crossed over her chest. "You will spend time with that thing than with a respectable man?" Carol demanded. Taylor swung around to look at her mother.

"Respectable?! The man just tried to feel me up in your kitchen!" she exclaimed.

Taylor shook her head. "I'm going home, goodbye, mother," she snapped before leaving the house.

At home, Alyssa was in the middle of studying for one of her final exams when she heard the door slam and it made her jump. "Taylor?" she called out. Taylor walked in and threw her purse across the room.

"Insufferable, evil woman!" Taylor snapped as she ripped off her jacket, throwing it in the closet.

"What happened?" Alyssa asked.

Taylor looked at her friend. "The usual bullshit, mom tries to hook me up with who she believes is a "good match" only for him to try to pin me against my mother's kitchen counter," she replied, "Even when I broke his wrist he kept going."

"Are you okay?" Alyssa asked, standing up from the table.

"I'm fine, just pissed off," Taylor replied.

Taylor sat down and let out a frustrated sigh. "I hate that woman," she muttered.

"Why do you go over there?" Alyssa asked.

"She's my mother," Taylor replied, "She's great at making you feel like shit if you skip one dinner."

Alyssa frowned, seeing how miserable her friend was. "I'm going to bed, I have to be on base in the morning," she told Alyssa, getting up.

"Night," Alyssa answered, watching her walk away.

Entering her room, Taylor changed into her pajamas after brushing her teeth. Climbing into bed, she was facing her closet and she saw Eric's clothes still laying in the back of her closet. With a groan, she pulled her pillow over her head and rolled over so her back was facing away from it. Slowly, she fell into a restless sleep.


	5. The Visit

Chapter 5: The Visit

Eric was sitting at his desk going over a bunch of paperwork when Wes knocked on the door. "Yeah?" Eric answered, not looking up from his work.

"Hey, we have patrol," Wes told his partner.

Eric got up, closing his folder. "You've been a little on edge lately," Wes commented.

"You act like that's different," Eric replied as he checked his blaster.

"Well after you saw Taylor again, you seemed…different," Wes commented.

"Yeah well that wasn't anything," Eric answered as they walked down the hall.

Wes just smirked. "Didn't seem like nothing," he commented.

"Shit you gossip like a woman," Eric muttered.

His partner laughed as they made their way over to the SUV. "I'm driving," Eric informed him.

"No way, you drove last time," Wes answered.

"Because you drive like you gossip." Eric told him.

Wes rolled his eyes as he got into the SUV.

They were out on patrol for a few hours, there were a few speeders but Eric had Wes handle them. "We could always take a drive over to Turtle Cove later?" Wes suggested. Eric glanced at him.

"Why won't you let it go?" Eric asked as he started the SUV up again.

"You liked her," Wes answered, "And you don't like anyone."

"I'm starting to remember why," Eric muttered.

"Why don't you just give her a call?" Wes asked.

"Why don't you just drop it already?" Eric replied.

"Because I think you two look great together," Wes commented.

Eric rolled his eyes. "She doesn't wanna see me, Wes, how about letting it go now?" he answered. Wes frowned, but he finally let the subject go and Eric continued driving down the road.

Turning a corner, Eric's phone started to ring and he hit the 'talk' button on the handset but made sure the phone was on speaker. "This is Eric," he answered.

"Commander, you have a call coming in from a friend who isn't giving any names but they are demanding to talk to you," the receptionist at the front desk said nervously.

"I'm busy, ask them to leave a message," Eric grumbled.

"They prefer not to," the receptionist replied.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Fine, put them through," he muttered. "To what friend do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

"Shut up, Myers. I wasn't about to tell them who I was. Look, I've got to be in Silver Hills this weekend and I've still got your clothes lying around."

"You know where I live. Just drop them off. If I'm not there, either leave them at the door or hand them off to my neighbor." He replied.

Wes was looking at his friend with an amused expression on his face. "Why should I go to your house?" she asked.

"Why should I be required to make an effort to meet up when I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. You're calling two days ahead and don't consider I might already have made plans?" he asked.

"Well do you?" Taylor countered.

"Yes," Eric lied.

Taylor scoffed. "Liar," she answered.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Because you had a slight pause," she replied.

"Look, Earhardt, you either drop them off at my home or you keep them. I don't care." He told her.

"Fine, whatever, I'll drop them off at your house," she answered.

"Sounds like a plan," he agreed.

They hung up and Eric glanced at Wes. "Shut up," he muttered.

The weekend arrived, Taylor pulled up to Eric's house and got out of her car, swinging her keys around on her finger. In her other hand was a bag of clothes as she walked up to the front door of the trailer. She knocked and waited. A few seconds later, the door opened. "Well, I'm surprised you made it," Eric commented. She gave him a small glare and a smirk before shoving the clothes at him.

"Here," she told him.

Eric took them and opened the door a little wider. "Want a drink?" he asked. Taylor stared at him.

"Us and alcohol don't mix," she answered.

"Well I do have water or coffee," he pointed out.

Taylor thought about it, but then nodded. "Sure, why not," she answered before going inside.

She looked around the trailer and she saw that it was actually pretty nice as she sat down on a stool at the counter. "Coffee? Water? Coke? Orange juice? Beer?" he asked. Taylor rolled her eyes a little.

"Water's fine," she replied.

Eric grabbed a pitcher of water from the fridge. "I didn't take you for a filtered water person," she commented.

"I get well water out here, trust me, you'd want filtered too," he answered.

He placed the glass in front of her before grabbing a ginger ale out of the fridge for himself. He leaned against the counter as he opened the can and they were silent for a few minutes. "So I saw my family recently," she commented.

"Yeah? Your brother back from Barbados?" he asked.

Taylor raised her brow. "How did you know about that?" she asked.

"Mr. Collins," he replied.

"Right," she said slowly, forgetting about his connection to the Collins family.

Eric pulled himself up on the counter. "How did Mommy Dearest react seeing you again after the wedding?" he asked. She let out a frustrated sigh.

"The woman is insufferable," she muttered, "She's trying to find me a you-lookalike now, one with money and a house, picket fence and dog."

"I took you more as a cat person," he answered with a smirk.

"Cole is as much pet as I need or want and technically he's Alyssa's." she insisted.

"How are those two anyways? I wouldn't be surprised they had a bunch of kids already," he replied.

"Cole has to propose first, then they'll get married, move in together and try for kids. And Cole is too dense to get Alyssa's hints as of yet." She commented.

Eric chuckled lightly at the comment. "You really don't like him," he answered.

"It's not that I don't like him. We're just too different to really get along." She insisted.

"I can see that," he agreed.

Taylor rubbed the back of her neck and let out a deep breath. "Yeah just everything's been a disaster. I keep my phone off these days because my mom's calling me six times a day," she muttered.

"Why not change your number?" he suggested.

"I tried that she always finds me," she replied, "The last time I saw her all she did was talk about the reception. My mom was outraged that I ruined my brother's reception and missed my sister's big scene of getting proposed to. I'd say they were less considerate of it being Henry and Camilla's day than I was."

"I have yet to hear the end of it from Wes and his father either," Eric admitted.

The kitchen was silent. Taylor took a sip of her water while Eric was holding the can in his hands. He slowly got off the counter, putting the can up by the sink as he walked over to her. "Do you regret it?" he asked. His question surprised her and she looked up at him.

Thinking about it, her mind kept going to what she could remember and shrugged. "I regret getting that drunk. Honestly, it had been a while since that itch was scratched and now I don't even remember it. Must have been good though, I couldn't actually walk straight for the next two days. Had to tell my colleagues I strained my back just to get them to stop commenting." She explained. Eric smirked, he would definitely take that as a compliment.

He leaned in a little more on the counter, his arms crossed in front of him. His hand just inches away from hers. "Hey, if you regret not remembering, we're sober now and I've still got a few condoms left in the box," Eric teased.

Taylor stared at him over the rim of her glass. "Really, Myers?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, really, Earhardt. I don't pick women up in bars every weekend."

Taylor glared at him, but couldn't help but notice now how well his shirt fitted over his muscles. She groaned when her insides stirred and slammed her glass down. "This is **not** happening again, Myers," she growled as she stood up and grabbed his shirt collar, dragging him in the direction of his bedroom.


	6. The Last Time

Chapter 6: The Last Time

Every time Eric and Taylor met up with each other, it was always the last time. It got to a point where Taylor stopped answering his calls because whenever she went over their clothes never stayed on long.

Three months later, Taylor was flying in her jet, watching as her Eagle Zord flew away. A small smile graced her features before she turned the jet around. "I'm making my way back," she said into her mask.

"Copy that, Lieutenant," someone from the base answered.

Landing back on the base, Taylor climbed out of her jet and removed her helmet. "Welcome back," her friend, Masen Stevens, greeted as he walked up. The two of them saluted at each other before walking away from the jet. "So I hear you might be up for promotion," Masen commented over the noise.

"I haven't heard anything about that," Taylor replied.

They walked by a few new recruits who stared in disbelief. "You'd think after two years they'd get over the story about how you literally vanished from the skies," he commented.

"Everyone likes a legend," she replied.

Taylor went into the locker room, removing her flight suit and hanging it up in her locker. She rubbed her shoulder and let out a breath when she grabbed her phone. One missed call, and surprise, surprise it was from Myers. She rolled her eyes, closing her phone and putting it back in her locker.

Finishing the rest of her duties for the day, she was getting ready to go back to her apartment when against her better judgment, she called him back. "Myers," he answered.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Well I'm being forced to having the day off tomorrow and was wondering if you wanted to meet up for drinks?" he replied.

Taylor walked over to her car, getting into it. "You know every time we meet up, we never stay there long and we said last time is the LAST time," she pointed out.

"Hey, I'm just suggesting a few beers. Not asking you to take off your clothes," he answered, "Even though clothes are optional at my place."

The blond woman rolled her eyes a little. "I'm kidding, take a joke Earhardt," he insisted.

"You're hanging out with Wes too much," she answered.

"I resent that comparison," he told her.

Taylor just smirked a little. "Fine, where should we meet?" she asked.

"How about our favorite place?" he suggested.

"Sure, just let me go home and change and I'll meet you there say in a couple of hours?" she answered.

"I'll be there," Eric stated.

They hung up and Taylor leaned back in her seat with a deep breath. She started up the car and drove off to head back home.

Reaching the apartment, Taylor checked the doorknob and saw that it was unlocked telling her that Alyssa was home. Opening the door, she saw that the lights were dim and there were candles. Great, Cole was coming over for a date night.

She went straight into her room, showered, and changed into some regular clothes. Walking out of her room, she saw Alyssa rushing around. "Have a good night," Taylor told her friend.

"Where are you going?" Alyssa asked, "I didn't even hear you come in."

"I'm just going to go out for a couple of hours, I'll be back probably in the morning," Taylor replied as she swung her keys around on her finger.

"Well…have fun," Alyssa told her.

"I will," Taylor replied before leaving.

At the bar, Eric took another shot when the bartender walked over. "Waiting on your blond friend?" he asked.

"Yeah, she should be showing up any time," Eric replied.

"You know I have been seeing you two come in for several nights for the last three months, why won't you two just admit it?" the bartender asked.

"We're just messing around," Eric replied.

The bartender shook his head and Taylor walked over, taking her seat at the bar. "You're late," Eric quipped.

"I have to drive from the base that's right on the other side of Turtle Cove," she answered.

Eric smirked at her. "How did it go?" He asked.

"It was another routine flight," she replied.

He side-eyed her, noticing the outfit she chose to wear that night. The tight black pants were doing their job on showing off her asset and then the spaghetti strap had a bit of a v-neck to it so he had a perfect view to look down her shirt if given the opportunity.

Taylor glanced at him. "You're drooling, Myers," she quipped before taking another drink of her beer.

"You've got a nice ass, can't help it when I get a good view of it," he replied.

"Smooth," she commented, making him smirk.

The night went on, music was playing and people were drinking. Eric looked over to see Taylor having been challenged to a game of darts. He watched as this guy was getting too flirty with Taylor but what was irritating him more was Taylor would just give the guy a playful smirk. Since when was she so flirty? The guy reached over Taylor to grab his beer and Taylor just rolled her eyes, giving the guy a playful shove. "Well, that's a look I've never seen before," the bartender commented. Eric took a swig of his beer, leaning back against the bar.

The guy smirked at Taylor as he sat next to her. "So, what are your plans later?" he asked as his hand was resting on her thigh. Taylor raised her brow.

"I haven't fully decided yet," she replied.

Taylor pushed his hand off her leg. "You look like you could use a little fun in your life," he commented as he moved his hand back on her leg. Now he was moving it up and Taylor narrowed her eyes.

"I'm quite alright, thank you," she answered.

Letting out a deep breath, Taylor pulled his hand away from her. "Stop touching me would you?" she asked.

"Come on, hot stuff, you know you want some of this," the guy commented as he leaned in.

Taylor leaned back, cringing at the amount of alcohol she could smell on his breath. Suddenly, the man was grabbed by the arm and swung around before Eric's fist swung and hit him square in the face. "MYERS!" Taylor shouted as the guy fell to the ground completely unconscious. Taylor looked at him in disbelief. "What the hell was that?!" she demanded.

"He wasn't listening," he replied.

Taylor got off the stool, grabbing her phone off the table beside her. She pushed by him, storming outside.

Walking over to her car, she let out a frustrated breath when she grabbed her phone to call a cab to a hotel. "Earhardt, wait," Eric called to her.

"Go away, Myers," she replied as she waited for someone to answer her call.

Taylor kicked up some dirt, leaning against her car. "Yeah, I'm calling for a cab…" she started to say. Suddenly, the phone was pulled from her hand and Eric hung up. "What the hell, Myers? Give me my phone," she ordered as she reached for it.

"Not until you talk to me," he replied.

"I obviously DON'T want to talk to you. Give me my damn phone before I break your nose," she snapped.

Eric held the phone out to her. Taylor grabbed it, but at that very minute he pushed her up against the car. "Get off me!" she snapped.

"Hey, the guy wasn't letting up and I can't help but be protective of you," he answered.

"I don't need protection," she told him angrily, "I can handle myself!"

"I know you can," he answered.

By this point she had stopped fighting him and they just stared at each other. Then, he stunned her by kissing her. Her first thought was to push him and to hit him for everything he had done already that day. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his back and returned the kiss. Pulling from her mouth, he started kissing her neck and one of her hands reached up and gripped his hair. "I'm still pissed at you," she told him honestly. Eric moved his hips over hers.

"You can punish me for that later," he replied.

"Fuck you, Myer," she hissed.

"Gladly," he replied.

She unlocked the back door to her car and pushed Eric in before going in and laying on top of him after closing the door.

It wasn't long before their pants were undone, hers were pulled off and tossed into the passenger's seat while she pulled his pants down. He reached into his shirt pocket for the condom and she raised her brow. "You were planning this," she commented as she leaned over him.

"Not much of planning, wasn't planning on knocking a guy flat on his ass tonight, but I did," Eric replied.

She rolled her eyes before she tore the package open and slid the condom onto him. He gripped her hips, and she slid onto him with a moan as she gripped his shoulders tightly. They started a rhythm, not really noticing how the car moved with their thrusts. Taylor moaned loudly in pleasure, but then she gasped as Eric moved her onto her back. The position made him go even deeper and she gripped his back with a gasp when he gave an extra hard thrust. She kept a free hand on the door so her head wouldn't hit it as the fell in sync with each other.

What they didn't see was the drunkard had stumbled out of the bar holding a bloody paper towel to his nose as he stumbled through the parking lot. He heard grunting and moaning, looking to his left he saw the car rocking and he could see the guy who had punched him. His eyes were wide and he hurried away before he was spotted.

Taylor gripped Eric's arms, her nails digging into his skin as she cried out when she climaxed. He continued with his thrusts before he climaxed. "You're still an asshole," she said in between breaths.

"I know," he answered.

He kissed her deeply before getting off her. Taylor grabbed her pants, pulling them back on as he got into the driver's seat to do up his pants. "I can say that won't happen again," he commented.

"Shut up," she replied.

Taylor was in his lap again, her hand resting on the back of his neck as she kissed him. Eric's hands moved up her back as he returned the kiss. She pulled away and smirked at him as she made a call on her phone. "Yeah, I'd like to call for a cab," she said into her phone. She opened the door and finished ordering for her cab before hanging up. "Goodnight, Myers," she told him as she got out of her car.

"It's your car," he commented.

"And I've been drinking. Thanks, but no thanks," she replied, "Wouldn't want a Silver Guardian to give me a ticket."

Eric couldn't help but smile as he watched as a cab pulled up and she got in. He watched her leave and leaned against the car with his arms crossed, all the while the bartender watching through the window with a shake of his head before going back to his customers.


	7. The Connection

**Author's Note: I want to thank my good friend AshleyHammond/AstroYellow for the completion to this story, she wrote the wedding part and she did an amazing job. Please read and review her story, Between the Black and White!**

Chapter 7: The Connection

Another nine months had gone by in much the same fashion. One afternoon Taylor was sitting in the canteen eating her lunch with Masen as they were going over their weekend.

"And then he punched the guy in the gut," Taylor finished her story, looking annoyed. "Honestly, who does he think he is?"

"Let me guess, he still got his piece of ass from you?" Masen raised his eyebrow.

Taylor looked guiltily down at her tray. "I just can't help myself." She admitted. Masen just smirked, shaking his head slowly.

"Taylor, as your friend, you need to cut this guy loose. He's being awfully possessive of you, but he's only meeting up for the sex. I bet he's scaring the guys away because they might come in between of him and his screw. But instead he's getting in the way of you, maybe, making a meaningful connection with one of these guys. Just call him and say you're done being his personal sex slave." He explained.

Taylor grabbed her coffee mug off the table. "I can't, he's my date for Yvonne's wedding this weekend." She replied.

"Taylor!" he exclaimed incredulously.

"I can't show up alone, mom will set me up with a rich boy otherwise and he's easily available. But I'll talk to him then, okay?" she answered.

"You had better," Masen warned. "Or I'll knock his lights out for a change."

"Yeah, I'd like to see that," she answered.

Masen raised a brow at her. "What? You don't think I could?" he asked.

"Myers would have you on the ground before you could finish pulling your fist back," she replied.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," he commented.

Taylor took a bite of her sandwich, shaking her head. "I've seen his hand to hand combat skills," she answered, "And no offense, but yours are still a little shaky." Finishing her food, she patted his shoulder before she got up and left the cafeteria.

Back at headquarters, Eric was watching the new recruits train. "So, according to my dad you were over at our place with Giles," Wes commented as he walked next to his friend.

"What about it?" Eric asked.

The Quantum Ranger walked over to a recruit. He moved his arm down a little more. "If you keep your arm up like that your shoulder will come out of joint," he stated before walking back over to Wes.

"Giles comes to the Collins mansion for one reason and one reason only," Wes answered as they continued on their way back towards Headquarters.

"You really need to find some other form of entertainment that's not me," Eric commented.

Wes laughed as they entered the building. "So what's the tux for?" he asked as they walked over to the elevator.

"None of your business, how about dropping it now?" Eric suggested.

"I think Camilla mentioned something about her sister-in-law getting married this weekend," Wes grinned. "Taylor rope you in as her date again?"

Wes only barely managed to dodge the punch aimed at his head. "I'll take that as a yes," he grinned.

That weekend Taylor stepped out of her bathroom wrapped in her robe. She looked at the long blush pink bridesmaid's dress hanging on her closet door and shuddered. Quickly pulling the door open, she rummaged around the mess inside for a pair of panties. Her phone started ringing on her bed, interrupting her search.

"Taylor," she answered.

"It's your mother," the voice on the other side answered. "Why aren't you here yet? The hairdresser is waiting for you."

Taylor rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to reply, but her mother steamrolled over it before she would get a word out.

"You're going to look just perfect. Some of Elliot's colleagues are going to be there and you might actually catch the eye of someone worthy of us. Honestly, why do you insist on bringing out the charity case again? Didn't you embarrass us enough last year?" Carol demanded irritably.

"Mom, as much as I love listening to you. If I don't get off the phone now I'll never get there," Taylor interrupted through her teeth and cut the connection.

She shot another look at her closet, still fuming at her mother's words. "Screw this," she muttered and slammed the door closed.

Hours later Taylor was standing in the corner of the reception hall, watching the couples sway on the dancefloor. Across the room she saw her mother's triumphant expression. One of Elliot's colleagues was indeed nagging on and on about his job, every now and then telling her how beautiful she looked in her dress.

To her relief Eric finally returned with two flutes of champagne in his hand. One look at the guy while he handed Taylor the glass was enough to have him running.

"You're doing it again," Taylor told him. "Maybe I liked his attention."

Eric scoffed a bit. "Please, Earheart, you looked like you were about to fall asleep from boredom. And it's not as if you're going to meet a guy here. They're all losers." He replied. Taylor rubbed her temple and looked over at him.

"Myers, this really has to stop. I can't keep going around being your piece of ass," Taylor sighed, remembering Masen's words. "Maybe not here and maybe not today, but this is getting in the way of us forming any meaningful relationships."

"What gave you the idea I consider you just a piece of ass? Did your mother say something?" Eric asked surprised. "Earheart, I respect you too much for that. We're friends with benefits."

"Are we? Friends?"

"Well, we get along, so yeah, I'd say we're friends."

"Oh," Taylor said.

"What? You don't agree? Fine, I'm your man and you're my woman. That better?" Eric sighed.

"That's starting to sound an awful lot like a real relationship," Taylor noted, sipping her champagne.

"Yeah, well, why not? For a year we've been saying it's the last time and we keep ending up in bed together. Why not actually be honest about what's going on and give it a shot?" Eric shrugged.

Taylor looked at him exasperated for a moment. Then she really considered the idea. He was right, they did keep pulling together, so why not actually try and make it official? "This is so not how I pictured this conversation to go. Okay, you're right. Why not give it a shot being together?" she asked.

Eric grinned at her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah, you'll be my man and I'll be your woman," Taylor grinned back with a spark in her eye. "We should make it official."

"It's your sister's wedding reception."

"My brother's wedding reception didn't stop us either. Why mess with a winning formula? I'm not wearing anything under this dress."

Eric's eyes darkened and he let out a low growl. "You're going to be the death of me, Earheart," he muttered as he grabbed her wrist and dragged her off to the nearest bathroom.

Inside he quickly had her pressed up against the wall. Taylor angled her head to give him better access to lavish kisses on her neck, her insides already doing flips. While his hands roamed her body, hers traveled down his, searching his pockets for a condom.

"Myers," she groaned. "Your pockets are empty."

"Unlike you, I actually wasn't planning on having a quicky at this wedding," he replied, pulling back to look at her. "Damn."

Taylor stared back at him for a moment, already feeling his straining against his pants. Quickly making up her mind, she grinned at him.

"You keep clean, Myers?" she asked.

"Yeah," he answered, quickly catching on to her meaning. "You?"

"Yeah, they actually test us during our physical on the base. And since we're officially together now…"

"What about pregnancy?"

Taylor shook her head. "I just came off my period a few days ago."

They looked each other in the eye for a moment longer before his lips crushed against hers. Her hands traveled down again to undo his pants. The skirt of her dress was hitched up and Taylor sighed in pleasure when Eric slowly slid inside. Their groans and sighs echoed off the walls as they found their by now familiar rhythm.

Suddenly the door opened and on of Elliot's teen cousin stepped into the room. He gaped at them with wide eyes.

"Fuck off," Eric snapped at the kid. "Can't you see it's occupied?"

The boy scurried back out of the bathroom and Taylor giggled.

"You scared the living daylights out of him," she commented.

"He looked like he barely recognized what was going on," Eric grinned, thrusting in deep and making Taylor cry out.

"I have no doubt by the time we walk out here the whole reception hall knows what went on."

"Do we care?"

"Nope."

Taylor grabbed Eric by the back of his neck and kissed him hard and deep as she thrust her hips with his.

When they left the bathroom, Taylor could feel eyes on them but she could really not care. The music was still playing, guests were still dancing despite what was buzzing around everyone now, and the alcohol was flowing. "Shall we?" Eric asked.

"Is that a real question?" she answered.

Eric held hand up and spun her around in a circle, she spun gladly with a smile on her face. They moved out onto the dance floor with the other guests. Taylor had her arm around his neck, while her other arm was around his back. Their bodies were pressed close together and they easily fell into the rhythm of the music. "Ready for some real moves that they don't teach in etiquette?" he quipped.

"Surprise me," she replied.

Taylor let out a gasp when Eric suddenly moved so she was tipped backwards.

Carol watched from the side of the reception with a glare. "How disgusting," she muttered before gulping down her champagne. She watched as her daughter and the homeless man were just wrapped up in each other. Hearing what had happened in the bathroom was humiliating and if it weren't for the fact she didn't want to make more of a fool out of her family, she would go up and smack her daughter for ruining her sister's day.

Henry on the other hand was laughing at his mother's reaction while smiling at his sister. As happy as he was, he was glad that he wasn't the one who walked in on them but at the same time he was just amused at how pissed Carol was at that moment. Camilla had informed him the horrible things that Carol had said to Taylor, so he was glad that Taylor was claiming what was hers. The way Eric held his sister, he knew this was different. At least he hoped it would be different. He watched as Eric pulled Taylor into his arms again, his forehead resting against her temple. Taylor had her eyes closed, but they were still moving to the beat of the music and she was leaning into him. Yeah, he definitely hoped this would be different for both of them.


	8. Getting Used to You

Chapter 8: Getting used to You

The sun hit her eyes, but this time it didn't give Taylor a headache. She slowly opened her eyes and let out a deep breath as she was acutely aware of her nudity, but it didn't bother her in the least. She had her arm up by her head and she was staring at the ceiling. A strong smell of food reached her senses and she sat up. "Morning," Eric greeted as he walked in with a tray. She raised her brow at him.

"Nice apron, Myers," she commented.

"It works," he replied.

Taylor smiled as he pulled off the apron, seeing the red and black boxer shorts he had on. "Hey, eat up, I worked on this," he told her as he sat next to her on the bed. Taylor smiled as she pulled on his shirt and then pulled the tray into her lap. She took a bite of the pancakes he had made and her eye went wide.

"Where did you learn to cook like this?" she asked.

"From my neighbor when I was a kid," he replied.

"Well she was a genius," she commented.

Eric smiled. "She was a lot of things," he replied. Taylor kept munching on her breakfast and she looked at him. She took a forkful of food and held it up to him. Eric took the fork into his mouth and took a bite before she took the fork back.

"What's the plan today?" she asked, "Something to get used to, making plans since this is more than sex now."

Eric laughed a little. Taylor was leaning into him and his arm moved around her waist. "Or we could stay in bed all day," she commented.

"As intriguing of an idea that is," he agreed, "I actually had an idea."

She looked up at him to see that he was staring at the bed. "So... There's this aviation museum here in Silver Hills... And you probably think it's lame and have been there about a million times... But... I thought maybe I could take you there?" Eric suggested somewhat nervously. Taylor looked at him surprised, but then a soft smile appeared on her face.

"You want to take me to an aviation museum?" she asked.

"You hate it, don't you? Look, I'm bad at this dating thing, okay. I never had a relationship serious enough to require actual dates." He rambled.

Taylor rested her hand on the back of his neck and kissed him. Eric was surprised, but he kissed her back as he moved his arm around her waist. She pulled away and smiled at him. "That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever wanted to do for me," she answered. "Plus I've been dying to go there for ages, but never found the time to. I'd love to go." Eric smiled before he kissed her this time.

When they finally were up and dressed, Eric was driving to the museum. This was different for him, he had meant it to Taylor that he had never had a real, serious relationship that required dates. For years, dating was just buying a girl drinks or dinner, then he'd go to their place. He never stayed the night.

Pulling into the museum, Eric got out of the car and made sure that his wallet was in his back pocket when Taylor suddenly held her hand out to him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Dating couples hold hands, Myers, now hold my hand," she replied.

Eric reached over, holding her hand as they walked over to go into the museum.

Going inside, he saw her eyes light up at all the different kinds of aircraft that hung up from the glass ceiling. The sky was bright blue with a few white clouds. She started naming off the different kinds of planes that were hanging up as displays, chatting about their uses and their flaws. She was like a kid and just seeing her excitement made him smile.

Taylor was leading him into another exhibit when a kid accidentally bumped into her. "Sorry!" the girl exclaimed sheepishly.

"It's okay," Taylor replied.

The girl smiled before she ran off to find her parents and Eric walked next to her. "Don't be getting any ideas about that," Eric commented as he held her hand.

"What? Kids?" she asked, but then she scoffed, "Please, never ever."

Eric smirked, but as they made their way over to the next exhibit, his mind started wandering back to the little girl. Her facial features were familiar and he glanced over his shoulder to see if he could catch one last glimpse of her. When he saw that she wasn't there, he turned back around to finish out the rest of his date with Taylor.

"Hey Myers."

"What?"

"You disappeared on me. Where did your thoughts run off to?"

"I just realized that girl reminded me of my mom. That's all."

"And when do I get to meet your family? You've met my dysfunctional bunch; seems only fair I get to meet yours."

"You've met Wes?"

"Yes."

"You've met Mr Collins?"

"Then you've met my family."

"You know what I mean, Myers."

"Earheart, I'm enjoying today. Maybe I'll tell you about my dysfunctional family that will make your family look picture perfect sometime, but I don't want to ruin our good mood."

Taylor looked at him to see he was serious and decided not to push the subject.

Later that day, they were leaving the museum and Eric looked over at her as he moved his arm around her shoulders. "What's next?" he asked. Taylor wrapped her arm around his back.

"How about I let you buy me dinner now?" she suggested.

"Yeah? Let me, huh? I think I know a place," he answered.

"By all means, lead the way," she told him.

Walking over to his truck, he unlocked it before they got in and he drove off.

They arrived at a small diner around the corner and Taylor looked at him with a raised brow. "I said you could take me out to dinner, Myers. Dinner, not diner." She insisted.

"Diners serve dinner," Eric shrugged. "And trust me, they make good grub and the best gobbler you've ever tasted."

Taylor was a little taken aback by their spot. Eric frowned a little. "We can go somewhere else if you really don't want to eat here," he added.

"This is perfect, at least now I don't have to go home and change," she commented as she got out of the truck.

Eric got out and locked the doors. "Change?" he asked, "Where the hell did you think I was taking you? Providence?" Taylor's nose wrinkled.

"I have had so much of their seafood I'm surprised I'm not a fish," she commented.

Eric opened the door. "It was a joke, Earhardt," he answered.

"I am well aware, Myers," she replied before stepping inside.

The moment she walked in the door, her mouth watered from the smell of fresh burgers being cooked. "They use a real grill?" she asked.

"What other way is there to make a burger?" Eric answered as they found a table to sit at.

A waitress walked up with a smile. "Hi, Eric, it's been a while," she commented. She had shoulder-length wavy, auburn hair and deep green eyes.

"Wes has gone into a salad phase. Refuses to take lunch here on patrol. Don't worry, I sense he's about to cave." He replied.

Taylor couldn't help but cringe even as the girl only laughed at Eric's joke. "The usual for you?" the waitress asked.

"Make that two and make sure you keep a piece of that cobbler off to the side?" he answered.

"You got it," she said smiling as she walked away.

Eric looked over to see Taylor staring at him with a pointed look. "What?" he asked.

"You honestly want me to believe you only come here for the burgers and the cobbler?" she asked.

Now he was smirking at her, leaning back in his seat. "Jealous, Earhardt?" he asked.

"I'm not going to sit here and quiz you about how many women you have slept with, Myers," she replied.

Eric scoffed. "Thank whatever deity that exists for that because that's not something I'm willing to share in front of a bunch of strangers," he commented.

"Should I be worried about how many women you have slept with?" she asked.

"I already told you I'm clean," he replied, "I have really nothing to hide."

"That many?" Taylor asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not one of the finer moments in my life." Eric shrugged.

Eric tapped his fingers on the table. "I was young, dumb, and really played into the rebel persona," He admitted, "Girls liked it, I was stupid and just wanted sex."

"What about now?" she asked.

"I've got my girl," he replied honestly.

Taylor couldn't help but smile. "And you're my guy," she stated.

"I've got a wake up call," he replied honestly. "And now what I want is to be with my girl and eat our dinner," he winked.

"I agree with that," she answered.

Later after their dinners were finished, the cobbler was brought over. Eric handed her a fork. "This is for one person?" she asked.

"The cook usually keeps an extra-large slice off to the side for me," he replied, "But it's too much for me after a meal like that."

Taylor smiled as she took the fork and bit into the cobbler. Her eyes went wide and Eric couldn't help but laugh just a little at her reaction. "See?" he teased lightly, earning a glare.

"It's fantastic," she agreed.

She took another bite and they just gave each other a smirk every once in a while.

When they were back in the truck, he was driving back to his place, but she was staring at him. She suddenly moved over and rested her head on his shoulder, but she moved her hand along his thigh. "I thought this was going to be more than sex?" he asked. Taylor gave him a smile.

"I'm rewarding my guy for taking me on a good date," she replied.

"You only brought clothes for one night," Eric pointed out

"I've got a spare uniform at the base and guys aren't the only ones that can go commando," she winked

Eric chuckled lightly and he picked up the speed just a little, making her laugh. This was indeed the best date she had ever been on.


	9. Good News Floundered

Chapter 9: Good News Floundered

"He took you on a date to that aviation museum?" Made asked surprised.

"Yep."

"Okay, I must honestly admit I'm impressed. Now I definitely have to meet this guy."

Taylor just smirked at her friend. "He's great, but don't expect much," she insisted.

"Well, I know your taste in men, so I do know some of what to expect," Masen winked.

She playfully nudged him. "So when is Prince Charming coming?" he asked.

"Don't call him that," she replied, "And why do you care anyway?"

"I want to meet this guy," Masen said bluntly.

"Why do I get the feeling that is a bad idea?" Taylor groaned.

"I'm one of your best friends, got to meet your boyfriend sometime. Why not get it over with sooner rather than later?" Made grinned. "Tell ya what, you bring Eric to Turtle Cove this weekend and I'll treat you both to lunch."

Taylor smirked a little bit, but she nodded her head in agreement. "I'll talk to him," she answered.

"Great," he said with a smirk before walking away.

Taylor shook her head slowly. She could only hope these two wouldn't kill each other.

Taylor was nuzzled against Eric's chest as they lounged on the couch watching a movie. "I'm glad you got along with Masen today," Taylor said, craning her neck to catch his eye.

"Of your friends, he's about the most normal," Eric replied with a wink.

Taylor laughed, shifting against him. She raised her eyebrow at him when she felt his body react to the movement.

"You're too damn hot," Eric grinned.

Taylor turned in his arms so she was facing him. "Yeah? What are you going to do about it?" she breathed in his ear. Eric smirked when he suddenly moved and moved her back on the couch and then kissed her deeply. Taylor kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss and his hands moved along her sides and then up her shirt.

She reached down, grabbing a hold of his shirt and started pulling it up. It wasn't long before their clothes were tossed on the floor. Taylor gripped Eric's shoulders, moaning in pleasure as he reached all the right places. She tilted her head back, letting out a moan and then he started kissing her throat. Suddenly, her phone started to ring. Taylor sighed, recognizing the ringtone. "Ignore it."

"Damn it, Myers, I can't. That's Alyssa, probably calling she's on her way, checking to see if I'm home and if so, to get decent."

"Damn," Eric cursed, halting his movements as Taylor picked up.

"COLE PROPOSED!" Alyssa's voice was clearly audible the moment the connection was made.

Before she could answer, Taylor's eyes went wide when she felt Eric give an extra hard thrust. "That's great," Taylor answered breathlessly, glaring at Eric when he smirked at her.

"Wait, is Eric with you right now?" Alyssa asked.

"Maybe." Taylor replied.

"Should I spend the night at Cole's?" Eric heard Alyssa ask as his hand travelled down Taylor's body and dipped between her legs.

"Probably." Taylor agreed, her breath hitching and sending him a halfhearted glare.

"Okay, I'll let you get back to whatever then and talk to you later."

They hung up and Taylor smacked his shoulder. "You're so damn evil, Myers," she muttered. In reply, Eric crushed his lips to her and wiggled his hips. Taylor groaned into the kiss and dug her nails into his backside to get him to resume his movements.

One week later, Taylor was staring at the letter in her hand with a beaming smile on her face. She had just received the word that she had passed everything and she had earned enough of her WAPS points to go from First Lieutenant to Captain. "Taylor, you in there?" Alyssa asked.

"Yeah!" Taylor replied

"Eric is here to pick you up for dinner at your parents' place." Alyssa informed her.

Taylor looked at the time and let out a deep breath as she set the letter on her bed. "Coming," she answered.

Eric was standing in the living room when Taylor walked out. "Ready?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," she replied, grabbing her purse.

She reached for Eric's hand and they left the house.

Arriving at the Earhardt mansion, Eric looked at her to see her staring at it. "I can turn this truck around?" he suggested.

"Why?" she asked, "Just to have her harass me day and night, no thanks."

Taylor got out of the truck, looking up she saw Carol standing on the front step with her arms crossed. "This isn't a charity event, Taylor Lynn," she informed her daughter. Carol's mouth went rigid when saw Eric reach for Taylor's hand and she slipped her hand into his.

"Good evening, Mrs. Earhardt," Eric answered.

Carol rolled her eyes before Taylor led Eric inside.

During dinner, Taylor was eating silently while listening to her sister go on and on about how she was going on another European vacation with her husband. "Eric, what do you do?" Henry asked, trying to change the subject.

"I hold a commanding position at the Silver Guardians," Eric replied.

"Really? That's quite an accomplishment," Camilla commented, "You have your own team?"

"In emergency situations, I can act alone, but usually I share command with a friend of mine."," Eric replied, "Things are calmer in our neck of the woods these days so it's a lot more traffic tickets than bank robberies."

Taylor gave him a glare, but Eric just smirked at her. "What?" Camilla asked.

"That's how we met," Taylor admitted under her breath.

"You robbed a bank or you got a traffic ticket?" Henry asked with a half-smirk.

Taylor took a breadstick and tossed it at her brother. "I don't rob banks and I got a traffic ticket," she replied.

"Taylor Lynn, don't you throw another piece of food in this house!" Carol snapped.

"Ma, relax," Henry answered, rolling his eyes.

"I raised responsible adults not animals," Carol scolded them.

"Not that responsible, mother, if Taylor had received traffic violations," Yvonne answered.

Taylor cleared her throat, shifting in her seat. "It wasn't a big deal, she got a ticket and then she helped me with a job," Eric put in.

"Is that how you paid your violations, Taylor?" Carol asked.

"Not that kind of job, mother," Taylor replied, closing her eyes tight.

Eric reached over, resting his hand over hers. "I think someone has some good news to share though," Yvonne commented. Taylor opened her eyes again.

"I know I do," Taylor replied.

"What's going on?" Henry asked.

Eric saw her eyes light up a little as she looked over at her brother. "Actually, I received a letter in the mail from the base…" Taylor started to say.

"Not whatever Taylor has to say," Yvonne answered, "Camilla, don't you have something to tell us?"

"About what?" Camilla asked confused.

"Weren't you puking up your guts in the upstairs bathroom just before Taylor showed?" Yvonne asked.

"Yvonne!" Henry snapped, making her jump.

Carol stared at her children. "Will someone tell me what's going on?" she demanded. Henry sighed and Camilla reached over, holding her husband's hand.

"We might as well now?" she said softly.

Everyone at the table sat quietly before Henry let out a deep breath. "Camilla's pregnant, five weeks," he admitted. Carol let out a sound that could only be described as a screech and a whoop. Eric saw his girl's eyes drop to her plate as Carol ran over and embraced Henry and Camilla.

"This is so exciting! I'm going to be a grandmother!" she exclaimed.

"Ma, Taylor had some news to tell," Henry commented, looking back at his sister, "What did the base send you?"

"Her news isn't as important as this," Carol answered.

"Ma!" Henry snapped.

Henry looked at Taylor. "What's the news?" he asked. Eric looked at her curiously, but Taylor just shook her head and poked at her dinner.

"Come on, Taylor. We're leaving. We'll celebrate your news ourselves. Maybe get you knocked up in the process so your mom will think you're interesting too." Eric commented, standing up.

"Taylor Lynn, don't you dare get pregnant by that piece of trash!" Carol snapped.

"What I do with my body and with whom is my business. So if I want Eric to screw my brains out until I scream his name, that's none of your concern," Taylor snapped.

Taylor got out of her chair, grabbing Eric's hand. "Taylor, if you walk out that door you can just forget your part of the Earhardt Estate!" Carol snapped.

"I don't want it!" Taylor answered.

Walking outside, Eric grabbed his keys and unlocked the truck. He unlocked the door and they got into the truck. Henry ran outside just as they sped down the steep driveway and disappeared down the road.

Taylor was looking at Eric as he drove off.

"What?" he asked curiously, having caught her looking at him.

"You called me Taylor back there, not Earheardt. You never call me Taylor." She pointed out.

Eric just smirked a little as he turned down another road. "Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Calling you 'Earheardt' in there might have invited along some unwanted guests," Eric shrugged, but Taylor saw right through his reply and smiled settling back into her seat. "So..." Eric continued. "Screwing your brains out until you scream my name... Were you setting me a challenge?" he asked.

Taylor let out a laugh. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she purred seductively as her hand moved up his thigh. He let out a growl.

"I'll pull this truck over here and now," he answered.

She just laughed again and rested her head on his shoulder. Eric continued to drive and they were silent for a while. "I got promoted," she told him. He reached down, resting his hand over hers. Just the simple gesture was enough to make her smile and lean into him contently as he drove home.


	10. Not so Easy

Chapter 10: Not so Easy

Eric was sitting next to Taylor in a small coffee shop in Turtle Cove. Max and Danny were sitting across from them at their table. Max was keeping up an animated monologue of his latest bowling game. No one was really listening, but the chatter suited Eric just fine. Taylor had been quiet and somewhat distant for the past week. If it hadn't been for Cole and Alyssa inviting them all here to share some important wedding news, he wasn't sure he would've even gotten to see Taylor this week. He almost felt like she'd been avoiding him.

Taylor was sitting back in her chair with her arms crossed over her chest. "Where are they?" she asked.

"It should be any minute now," Danny replied.

As if on cue, Cole and Alyssa walked in and Taylor watched as Max and Danny jumped out of their chairs to greet their friends. "So? What's the big news?" Max asked as they sat down.

"Well, we have finally settled on a date," Alyssa announced happily as she held onto Cole's hand.

"When is it?" Danny asked.

"We were talking about March 20th, first day of spring," Cole replied.

"Oh and Taylor, you'll be my maid of honor of course," Alyssa added to Cole's announcement.

Taylor winced, lowering her head a little bit. "I can't," she told them, making her friends look at her.

"If it's about the dress, you can wear your uniform for all we care. We're keeping it informal. But I can't do this without my best girlfriend by my side." Alyssa assured her.

Taylor lifted her head and looked at her friends, but avoiding eye contact with Eric. "I'm being deployed," she replied. Everyone was silent, but Taylor gave her friends the best smile she could give.

"We can hold off until you come home," Alyssa answered immediately.

"No, don't push your wedding off because of me," Taylor insisted.

"Taylor, didn't I just say I wasn't doing this without you there. Anyway... I was going to move in with Cole... But with you deploying, I don't want you to have to worry about storing your stuff. We're pushing the wedding back till after your return and allow for some time for you to find a new apartment," Alyssa insisted.

Alyssa hugged her tight and Taylor couldn't help but smile just a little bit as she hugged her back. Then the others surrounded her to hug her.

Eric was driving back to his place with Taylor in the passenger's seat. "Myers, this is not the way to my apartment," Taylor pointed out annoyed.

"Your place you can continue avoiding me, my place you can't," Eric shrugged, keeping his eyes firmly on the road.

Taylor let out a deep breath and stared out the window. "Say something," Taylor demanded after the silence stretched too long.

"Speed limit," Eric replied innocently.

Taylor hit him in the shoulder. "Not that kind of something."

"What do you want me to say? I was a marine before I joined the Silver Guardians. I know how deployment works and how little say you have in it." He explained.

Taylor was silent again, crossing her arms over her chest. She let out a deep breath, leaning back in the seat. She ran her hands over her face when Eric reached over and he grasped her hand in his. Giving her the silent support that she needed.

The ride back home was silent a little longer, but then Taylor let out a deep breath. "What?" he asked. Taylor glanced at him and released his hand, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I've been doing some thinking," she replied.

"This isn't fair to you."

"What's not fair to me?" Eric asked confused.

"This, us, my deployment."

"I knew what I was getting into," Eric shrugged. "I'll survive."

"I don't want to tie you down while I'm away."

"You're not."

"Well, with the way this relationship has been going... I'm not sure you can keep it in your pants that long," Taylor stated bluntly.

"I can and I will. I'm not going to cheat because you're away for a while."

"Past experiences don't agree with you. I was deployed once before, it got me my promotion. And I was in a relationship at the time, longer than we have been now. I came home, we started celebrating and suddenly there's this woman at the door telling him she's pregnant. He's not even denying the possibility of being the father. I don't want to repeat that experience ever again."

"For one, you wouldn't have to worry about me getting anyone pregnant," Eric grinned at her. "But if it makes you feel better, fine, we'll break up. But I promise you, I will keep it in my pants whole you're away. You can check on me with Wes if it makes you feel better. But you promise me that if I do, you come right back to me when you get back home. And you keep it in your pants too out there. No romps with Masen just because you feel the itch."

"I can do that," Taylor smiled at him fondly. "Now can you take me home?"

"I am."

"My home, we just broke up, remember."

"No, we didn't. We're not breaking up until the day you deploy," Eric gave her a wicked smile. "And if I'm going to be a good boy while you're away, I better get what I can while you're still here."

Taylor laughed through the tears that sprang into her eyes. If anything, at least she had something to hold onto while she was away.

They reached his trailer, Eric got out of the truck and Taylor walked over to him. As soon as she was close enough, Eric pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. "When are you leaving exactly?" he muttered against her lips.

"Saturday," she replied.

Eric pulled back and fished his mobile phone from his pocket, sending a quick text to someone. Taylor looked at his questioningly.

"Wes," Eric shrugged. "Letting him know I'm taking the week off. He'll be thrilled. Always pushing me to cash in my vacation hours."

"And why are you taking the week off, Myers?" she asked.

"So I'm spending every moment I still can with you. I do need something to tie me over while you're deployed." He replied.

Taylor raised her brow, but then Eric took her into the trailer.

Two days later, Taylor was wearing one of Eric's shirts while he was still asleep. She was taking advantage of the few minutes she had where they weren't going at it like animals. She had so many hickeys and bite marks she couldn't figure out how she would explain this to her squadron on Saturday. She had to admit, the one thing Eric Myers knew what to do was please a woman. Eric walked out of the bedroom wearing his boxer shorts. "Morning," he greeted as he walked over.

"Morning," she replied.

She jumped when he playfully grabbed her ass when he walked by her to get to the coffee pot. "Well there were some positions that we never tried before," She commented. Eric smirked as he took a seat at the counter.

"Should I take that as a compliment?" he asked.

"I wasn't complaining was I?" she replied with a smirk.

Eric walked over and he kissed her deeply as his answer. Taylor kissed him back, setting the cup on the counter next to her so it didn't spill. "As much as I enjoy keeping you here," Eric grinned. "We do need to get out of the house. If we want to keep eating, we'll need to get groceries."

"Well, I can't keep wearing your clothes either. How long are you planning on keeping me here?"

"How long can you stay?"

"Masen's picking me up from my apartment the day we deploy, otherwise I'm free."

"Then I'm keeping you here till then and sleep over that last night at your place."

Taylor rolled her eyes at him, but smiled. "Lunch in Turtle Cove? Pick up some of my clothes and groceries on the way back? And maybe dinner at your diner tonight and catch a movie?" Eric smiled at her.

"That sounds like the perfect day," he replied.

They walked back to his room to get ready for their day.

That Saturday, Masen was sitting in his car waiting for Taylor.

In her bedroom, Taylor had finished putting on her uniform and Eric was still lying in bed. Walking over, she stared at what she thought was his sleeping form. Leaning forward, she pressed a kiss to his temple. She stood up to leave, letting out a deep breath. "Earhardt," Eric muttered into his pillow, making her stop, "Don't get yourself killed." She bit her lower lip, glancing back at him as he turned over and went back to sleep.

Walking outside, she made her way over to Masen's car. "Ready, Captain?" he asked.

"Ready as I ever will be," she replied as she got in the car.

Masen started up the car and drove off. What they didn't notice was Eric watching her leave from her bedroom window. He turned around and went back in to get dressed and go back home.


	11. Distance

Chapter 11: Distance

The sun was sweltering as Taylor was doing calisthenics with her squadron. "Dismissed," she called out once they were done. She wiped the sweat from her face, letting out a deep breath as she stretched her neck from side to side.

"How's it going, Captain?" Lieutenant Nick Dallas asked.

"It's going alright, lieutenant," she replied, "Where's Thomson? He missed today's session."

"You know the kid, he sees a chopper and he disappears," he commented.

Taylor shook her head. "I don't get why he even joined the military," she answered, "He's too flighty."

"He's a kid," Dallas insisted.

"Who will get himself killed out here," She replied.

Dallas watched as his commanding officer went over to her quarters before going in his own direction.

Taylor let out a breath as she rubbed her shoulders. A lot of times during this deployment, if they weren't on patrol they were right back where they were at that moment. She sat on her cot, the springs squeaking as she sat down on the frumpy mattress. She laid down, staring up at the ceiling as she let her arm rest over her middle and her other arm rested behind her head. She let out a long yawn and her eyes started to close on their own accord.

Back in Silver Hills, Eric made his way down the hall in headquarters towards the stairs. "Where are you going?" Wes asked.

"I was going to check on the new recruits, see which ones are going to make it through the first day of training," Eric replied.

Wes shook his head slowly when one of the girl recruits walked by. She gave Wes a flirty smile before she continued up the stairs. Eric saw Wes just shift nervously and was amused. "Well, why don't you go take care of your own personal life instead of poking your nose in mine?" Eric suggested as they continued down the stairs.

"I can't imagine going on another date," Wes replied honestly.

Eric saw the far off expression on his friend's face. "You know, Jen wouldn't want you alone," Eric commented, surprising Wes.

"Just the idea of asking another woman out just…I don't know," Wes answered, "I can't do it."

Eric turned a corner and Wes followed him. "And you're giving me relationship advice?" Wes asked.

"Not really advice, more of a suggestion," Eric replied as they entered the training area.

Wes looked at him. "Like you should talk, you and Taylor are broken up and I haven't seen you go out with anyone since she left," he commented.

"I'm working," Eric replied.

Eric walked away after that and Wes watched him leave.

That night, Eric was fixing himself something to eat when his computer started to beep. Looking over, he saw that his Skype was beeping and Taylor's picture showed up. Walking over, he hit the talk button and her face appeared on the screen. "Still alive, Earhardt?" he asked.

"Does it look like I am?" she answered.

Eric smirked. "Still sexy as hell too," he commented, "Especially in that uniform with sand in your hair."

"Ha. Ha," she answered.

"You don't wanna know where else I've been finding sand. Or... maybe you do." She commented.

"I'd rather see you out of the clothes," He answered as he sat back in his chair.

"Yeah, there's sand there too." She commented.

Eric laughed a little, shaking his head slowly. "Take a compliment, Earhardt, I wish I was there with you," he answered.

"No, be glad you're there," Taylor insisted, "This place is just one big dustbowl."

Eric just smiled at her as he stared at her. "Stop," she told him.

"What? I'm admiring you," he replied.

"That's not your admiring look, Myers. That's undressing me with your eyes." She insisted.

"Okay, can't help that. I haven't had sex since you left," he replied.

"Well, neither have I, so suck it up."

Eric just smirked at her as he sat back in his chair. "Miss me yet?" he asked.

"Like a hole in the head," Taylor replied sweetly. "Why do you think I keep calling you? Damn you, Myers, you turned me into a needy woman."

"I'm just as needy, I miss the way those legs feel around my hips," he said with a near evil grin.

Taylor groaned. "Myers, I only have so much clean laundry here. And you keep ruining my panties..."

"I have no problem with you going commando," Eric winked.

Taylor shot him a glare, but he could tell that he was turning her on. "Come on, admit it, you can't find someone who scratches that itch," he insisted.

"Oh, I've got someone, but you made him off limits." She answered.

"I don't want any competition," he insisted. "Well, if I'm having to go solo all this time. You'll have to suffer the same. But I'm afraid imagining it's you isn't working. Your hands are softer," Eric winked playfully. He watched proudly as the color rose on her cheeks.

Taylor let out a deep breath, sitting back as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "How's Wes?" she asked trying the change the subject.

"His lips are remarkably soft, but you taste better."

"Myers…"

"What? You're not here and I need some form of entertainment."

"Play Scrabble. You promised me no Masen."

Eric smirked as he sat back in his seat. But if you don't want me there, but do miss me entertaining you... Alyssa insists I go to a "We miss Captain Taylor Earhardt" pity party where we make you a care package. If you want I could get one of those "make your man's dick into a dildo" kits and put that in there." He commented. Taylor's eyes were wide.

"You wouldn't," she answered.

"It'd provide you with something," he pointed out.

They were laughing a little. Suddenly, they heard banging on her door. "I have to go Myers, goodnight," she told him before ending their conversation.

The next day, Eric and Wes were sitting in the truck with their lunches while the radio was playing. "There's no way the LA Kings won't win the cup this year," Wes insisted.

"You kidding? The Knights have been on fire all year," Eric answered.

Wes sat back in his seat with a smirk. "Care to wager a bet?" he asked. Eric glanced at him.

"I don't want your money," he answered before grabbing a fry out of the paper bag next to him.

"No, not money," Wes insisted.

"So what are you suggesting?" Eric asked.

Wes pondered it but then a smirk showed on his face. "Loser has to get a tattoo chosen by the winner and the winner also gets to pick where it goes," Wes replied.

"Childish much?" Eric asked.

"Me and my friends made these bets all the time while we were in school," Wes defended.

"Explains why it's so childish. Your friends in school were asses." Eric replied.

"They dared to make the bets. Are you chickening out on something those asses had the guts to do?" Wes asked.

Eric narrowed his eyes at Wes. "I'll take your bet," he answered.

That night, Eric and Taylor were on another one of their chats. "So what's new over there?" she asked.

"I've got this bet going on with Wes," Eric replied as he sat back in his seat.

"What kind of bet?" she asked.

"Kings against the Knights for the Stanley Cup," Eric replied.

"Ooh, interesting, I heard that the Knights have been unstoppable this year," she commented.

"Yep, so this should be an easy win," Eric replied.

Taylor shook her head slowly. "What are the stakes?" she asked.

"It won't matter because I'll be the winner," he replied.

She laughed a little. "I wish that was my biggest problem," she commented.

"You okay?" he asked.

She pushed her hair from her face, pulling her leg up on the chair she was sitting on so she could rest her elbow on her knee and leaning into her hand. "Just the same shit, different day. No one listens half the damn time so I'm spending most of my day just yelling," she replied, "This Thomson kid is going to be the death of me."

"You'll be home soon," he assured her.

"Not soon enough," she replied.

Taylor looked at him through the screen. She did miss that man more than she cared to admit. "I miss having a bed," she commented when she realized they were sitting in silence for too long.

"Well, you've got one here," He pointed out.

She gave him a slight glare. "I meant my own," she answered, earning a chuckle. She let out a breath. "Okay, I have to go, I have to be up in five hours," she told him.

"See ya, Earhardt," he answered.

"Night, Myers," she returned before hanging up.

~~Stanley Cup Game~~

Eric watched in disbelief as the Kings skated around the rink celebrating their victory. "Did I just…" Eric stared at his friend in horror.

"Lose a bet you were sure to win?" Wes grinned and nodded.

"So I…" Eric continued to stammer.

"Have to let me pick out a tattoo to go on your body at a location of my choosing." Wes's grin grew wider.

"Well, shit," Eric groaned.

"What? Don't you trust me?" Wes teased innocently.

Eric just glared in reply. "Well, I actually know a guy and I'm sure he's willing to keep the shop open tonight just for you." He assured him. Eric's eyes grew wide.

"How do you even _know_ a tattoo artist?" he choked out.

"I have my ways," Wes just shrugged. "I'll pick you up after dinner. Can't risk you chickening out."

Wes sauntered out of Eric's office to a litany of curses coming from his friend's mouth.

That evening, as promised, Wes showed up at Eric's doorstep. Eric glared at him when he opened the door, but followed his friend to his car anyway.

"Why are you driving again?" Eric grumbled.

"So you can't drive us off a cliff just to get out of this," Wes laughed. "Plus, that way I didn't bring this for nothing."

He pulled out a hipflask from his pocket and handed it to Eric. The other man unscrewed the cap and sniffed the contents.

"Don't drink it all in one go," Wes warned. "I might've raided my dad's liquor cabinet for the good stuff. He still thinks I don't know where he keeps that key."

Eric saluted his friend and took a long draught from the flask, coughing a little when he swallowed. "Definitely the good stuff." Wes smirked as they got in the car and Eric took another swig as Wes backed out of the gravel driveway and drove down the street.

They arrived at the tattoo parlour and Wes parked the car. Wes knocked on the locked door and a moment later the bemused owner opened the door for them, locking it again once they were inside.

"This is the victim today?" he asked Wes, eyeing Eric.

"Yup," Wes replied.

"You know, one of these days you are going to lose and it will be you in my chair," the man warned and turned to Eric. "Take a seat. I'll take Collins to the back to figure out your design and I'll come get you when it's ready."

Eric nodded firmly and took a seat, taking another sip from the flask Wes had given him. So it wasn't the first time that bastard made a bet like this. Eric promised himself he was going to be the one to get Wes into that chair someday.

What felt like an eternity later, the man reappeared and beckoned him to follow. In the back he was greeted by the most devilish grin he'd ever seen on Wesley Collins's face.

"Drop um, Myers," Wes ordered. "This one is going on your cheek."

That night, Eric was sitting more on his left, which he hoped Taylor wouldn't notice when she appeared on the screen. He was grateful that Taylor didn't say anything about how he was sitting, but she did notice the sourpuss look on his face. "What's up with you, Myers?" she asked before grabbing her water bottle.

"I lost a bet I had with Wes," Eric replied.

"How much did you lose on this one?" she asked, smirking.

Before Eric could answer, there were sounds of explosions. "What's that?" he asked. Taylor's head had jerked over her shoulder towards the noise. "Earhardt?" he called out. The camera started growing fuzzy and then the transmission was cut. "Taylor!" Eric called out into the black screen.


	12. Danger Zone

Chapter 12: Danger Zone

"What's that?" Eric asked. Taylor looked over her shoulder toward the noise. "Earhardt?" Eric called to her. Instead of answering, she closed the lid to the laptop, cutting the transmission. Taylor grabbed her gun belt off the floor, running toward the door to her quarters.

Running outside, she saw many soldiers' quarters on fire. Men and women were scattered, tripping over each other. She pulled her gun out, looking for her squadron. "GET TO THE TRUCKS!" she shouted to her squadron. They started grabbing anything important while running to the trucks. Taylor handed the computer off to one of the techs that ran by her. Gunshots were raining down around them and she could hear some of her men grunting in pain. She saw one soldier on the ground, trying to regain her footing. Picking her up, she pushed her towards the trucks. "MOVE! KEEP MOVING!" Taylor shouted.

Running around the corner, Taylor searched for anyone else who needed help. She slid in the sand and grabbed a hold of a rail to keep herself from falling completely. Just as she stood back up and continued running through the sand, she felt a hot, burning sensation rip through her front and she fell to her knees making a sound that was between a gasp and a grunt. She was on the ground, resting one hand on it while her other hand was pressed against her shoulder right by her collarbone. "EARHARDT! YOU ALRIGHT?!" Dallas called out.

"I'M OKAY! JUST GO!" Taylor answered as she got to her feet.

She looked to her right and she saw one of their men on the ground. "Thomson!" she called out. He was just a kid! Rushing to his side, she pressed her fingers to his neck. There was a pulse. She looked around for any sign of medics. "MEDIC! I NEED A MEDIC!" she called out. It didn't take her long to realize that no one was coming, Taylor wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled him up. "Hang on, Thomson, can you hear me?" she asked as she started half-dragging him towards the vehicles. He let out a groan. "Good, come on, just stay with me, that's an order Airman!" she told him.

Dallas jumped into the truck when Henricks saw Taylor dragging a limp Thomson to them. The blasts were getting closer and Taylor staggered. "Take him!" Taylor called out when they were close enough. They pulled Thomson into the truck when Taylor pulled out her handgun, firing at one of the ambushers who was about to jump into the truck right behind Thomson.

"Captain!" Henricks called out, reaching for his commanding officer.

The truck lurched forward and Taylor jumped at the same time, grabbing Henrick's arm. He pulled her into the truck and Taylor looked around to see if the rest of her squadron was there. "Lieutenant, did everyone get out?!" she called out to Dallas over the noise.

"We won't know until we get to the next safe zone!" Dallas answered.

Taylor checked over Thomson as the medic was assessing his injuries. "You might have just saved this kid's life," the medic commented.

"Just help him," Taylor replied.

Dallas noticed that her face was really pale. "Captain?" he asked. Now he sounded far away and Taylor fell to her side. "CAPTAIN!" he shouted, moving beside her. He pulled her shirt open and saw the hole in her shoulder. "Shit! MOVE THIS DAMN THING! THE CAPTAIN'S BEEN HIT!" he shouted at the driver. Airman Henry Kellen was by her side and he pressed his hand to her shoulder to try to stop the bleeding.

"Is it a clean shot?!" the medic called out.

"I'm not moving her to find out," Kellen answered.

"Then you might as well be pushing the blood onto the other side of her shoulder if you don't know!" the medic answered.

Dallas pushed her up and looked at her back. "The bullet isn't through," he told the medic.

"Shit!" the medic snapped.

He started pounding on the truck wall. "Move this damn thing!" he called out to the driver.

A week later, in Silver Hills, Eric couldn't concentrate on his work. Taylor never returned and he couldn't get a hold of her in any other way. He sat back in his seat, staring at the piles of paperwork on his desk, but all of the words on the papers felt like he was reading gibberish. Standing up from his desk, he looked outside at the city. "Eric?" Wes asked.

Eric was off in his own world and didn't hear Wes. "Eric," Wes called again. Walking over, he grabbed his friend's shoulder. "Hey," Wes called to him. Eric looked at him and Wes frowned to see how exhausted he was. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," Eric replied, "What's going on?"

"You're going to go home for the day, and I'm not taking 'no' for an answer," Wes told him.

"You can't make me," Eric growled.

"Like hell I can and I will have security escort you out if you don't get your arse in gear and out of that damn door right this instant."

Eric looked at his friend in shock. Wes was the mellow one, preferring to ask nicely instead of ordering and cursing people around. That part was Eric's specialty. "Fine," he sighed, grabbing his jacket and storming out the door.

Wes couldn't help but notice the way Eric's clothes hang around him as he watched his friend's retreating back. Obviously worry over Taylor had him barely sleeping or eating. Bags were under his eyes as testimony of his lack of sleep, but the way his uniform fit… he probably lost a couple of pounds as well this past week. Knowing Eric would give him hell over it later, he pulled his phone out of his pocket, found the contact he was looking for and raised it to his ear. To his relief the other person picked up almost instantly.

Eric sat at the small breakfast bar of his kitchen nursing a glass of whisky and staring at the blank screen of his laptop, hoping against hope Taylor's picture would appear. He was startled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door. Reluctantly he got up and opened the door.

Alyssa smiled gently at him, with Cole standing behind her holding a glass oven dish covered in foil. "Wes gave your address," she quickly explained. "Thought you could use some company."

Eric grunted but stepped aside to let them in.

"I'm assuming you have an oven,' Alyssa continued, taking the dish from Cole and marching right to the kitchen. "It's lasagna, will take about 20 minutes to heat."

Eric eyes Cole but he just shrugged. "I'm just here to hold you down should you protest."

"You and what army?" Eric raised an eyebrow.

Cole cracked a small smile and closed the door behind him. "We went to the base, hoping they'd be able to give out some information on Taylor. But we're not next of kin, so they kept their lips tight shut. Wouldn't even tell us who is listed as her next of kin so we could ask them. And somehow… it doesn't feel right to stop by her parents to ask if they know anything. They're the only ones we'd know to find anyway."

"I doubt her parents would even tell us even if they did know," Eric replied honestly.

Alyssa sat down and saw that Eric's computer was open. "I'm sure she's okay?" she said trying to be reassuring.

"Nothing about this is okay," Eric muttered before downing the rest of his drink.

Alyssa reached over, resting her hand on his shoulder and Eric just sat silently before he got himself another drink.

Dinner was ready, Eric just stared at the pile of pasta, meat, and cheese on his plate and was poking at it. "It's not going to come to life, Alyssa's a great cook," Cole answered.

"I'm sure it's fine," Eric replied.

Eric took a bite and they were silent. They could tell that Eric was lost in his own thoughts. Cole reached over, resting his hand on his fiancé's. Alyssa gave his hand a gentle squeeze, resting her head on his shoulder as they ate dinner silently, while trying to offer Eric the support he needed.

Later, Eric had his laptop open again, staring at the Skype screen just waiting for Taylor's picture to pop up in the corner. He sat on his couch with a bottle of vodka and just stared blankly at the screen. "Where are you, Earhardt?" he muttered under his breath before taking a swig from the bottle. This was going to be another long night.


	13. The Message

**Author's Note: I want to thank my friend Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow for writing a good portion of this when I hit a major writer's block. Please check out some awesome stories written by Roxy Earhardt-Myers that I found called 'Suddenly Something', it's a lot of fun!**

Chapter 13: The Message

Waking up slowly, she winced from the lights in her eyes. "Captain?" a voice asked. She saw a doctor standing over her and he was checking her eyes. "Can you tell me your full name?" he asked.

"Captain…Taylor Lynn Earhardt, Captain of … squadron Beta 508…, home base is Turtle Cove." Taylor replied, her voice scratchy as she spoke.

"What is your date of birth, Captain?" The doctor asked.

"March 16, 1977," she replied.

"What is the last thing you remember?" he asked.

Taylor's head started to hurt a little, but she fought to answer the man's questions. "Thomson," she groaned as she sat up.

"Easy, Captain," the doctor insisted, pushing her back down. "Airman Thomson is going to be fine. He got shipped back home for better treatment, but you saved that boy's life."

Taylor nodded slowly. "So, what's the damage?" she asked softly.

"Took a bullet to your shoulder. We cleaned the wound, stopped the bleeding and stitched it up. I'm afraid the bullet lodged itself into your shoulder blade and we had to leave it in. You did have a fever for a bit and we had to change camps again while you were out. It's mandatory rest for you for another two days and then administrative duties until we deem the wound healed enough to return to active duty," the doctor replied. "Sorry, but you weren't bad enough to have earned a one-way trip back home like Thomson did."

Taylor nodded again. "How long was I out?"

"You've been in and out for a little over a week due to the fever," the doctor smiled. "Now, if you're a good patient and do as we say for the next 24 hours, I'll release you from infirmary so you can return to having your own quarters."

"A week?" Taylor asked shocked. "Shit! I need to…"

"Stay put, in bed and rest," the doctor finished firmly. "Your laptop is waiting for you and it will still be waiting tomorrow. I'm sorry, but all personal calls will have to wait a little longer."

The next day Taylor was sitting on her bed in the infirmary with a clean uniform lying next to her. She was trying to change into it, but moving her arm too much hurt.

"Hey, I heard they're letting you out. Need any help?" a familiar voice asked from the other side of the privacy screens that had been put up around her bed.

"Masen," Taylor sighed in relief. "Yeah, a little help would be much appreciated.

Masen peeked around the corner of the screen and she nodded at him, giving him permission to invade her privacy. Without a word he helped her strip off the hospital gown before getting her into her uniform.

"Thanks," Taylor muttered as he placed her arm in the sling she'd been given to help rest her shoulder.

"Any time," Masen smiled at her. "Just let me know if you need any further help later."

"Check in on me every evening and morning until I've proven I can dress myself?" Taylor asked him.

"Sure thing, Captain," Masen winked and pushed the screens aside.

"Masen…" Taylor warned.

"I know, I know, I only get to look, no touching that isn't absolutely required," he held up his hands. "Anyway, I'm here to escort you to your quarters, since you probably don't know where they are yet on this base."

Taylor shook her head and followed Masen out the door with a small wave at the staff. They walked through the camp side by side, Taylor mostly keeping silent while Masen caught her up on what happened since they evacuated their first camp. Every so often they were stopped by people expressing their joy at seeing Taylor up and about again. Each time brought a font smile to her face.

When they finally arrived at her quarters, Masen pushed open the door. "Here we are, home sweet home for the next couple of weeks."

"Thanks, Masen," Taylor replied, scanning the room. Her eyes immediately landed on her laptop which stood perched on a desk.

"I'll leave you to call lover boy," Masen grinned. "How much you wanna bet he's been worried sick about you?"

Taylor shot him a glare and Masen quickly ducked back outside, slamming the door behind him.

Eric blinked open his eyes at the infernal ringing. His back hurt for the awkward position he'd fallen asleep in at his breakfast bar. It took him a moment to realize it was his computer and he quickly hit the keyboard.

"Well, don't you look like hell, Myers," a familiar voice commented.

"Like you look any better, Earhardt," Eric muttered, glancing at the screen.

As the words left his mouth, Eric froze. Taylor would've laughed at the look of pure shock on his face, if not for the deep hurt and longing in his eyes. She waited patiently for Eric's mind to catch up.

"Not this dream again," he muttered.

"You're not dreaming, Eric," she told him softly.

The sound of his name woke him up like nothing else.

"You're alive! You're really alive and calling," he breathed out in amazement.

"I'm alive and I'm calling," she answered.

"What happened? What happened to you?" he asked, gesturing to the sling he could see in the camera.

She glanced at the sling before looking at him. "We were ambushed in the morning, I was trying to get everyone out and I got shot," she replied. She saw his eyes grow wide. "I lost a lot of blood, they said about two pints," she added, "But I still managed to pull that kid, Thomson. He's back in the states now, he was hurt worse than me. The bullet is still there, they said it would cause more damage if they had removed it."

"That's not a ticket home?" he asked.

"No," she replied firmly, "My place is here."

Eric frowned, but Taylor gave him a smile. "I'll be back before you know it," she added.

"Not good enough," he muttered.

"So what have you been up to?"

"Worrying over you, which caused our friends to worry over both of us."

Taylor let out a breath, leaning against her good hand as she observed him with a small smile. Eric suddenly hit a key on the keyboard, making a loud 'bing' sound on the computer. "What are you doing?"

"Making sure I know I'm not going crazy."

She couldn't help but laugh. "I promise you're not," she assured him. Suddenly, there was banging on her door. "I have to go," she insisted. Eric nodded.

"Don't get yourself killed," he answered.

"I won't," she assured him before hanging up.

Eric let out a sigh of relief as he sat back in his seat. He ran his hand down his face before reaching for his phone, dialing Alyssa's number. As he waited for her to pick up, he opened Paint and summoned the screen shot into the program. Circling the date and time in the lower right corner of the picture, he rested his hands on the keyboard as Alyssa finally picked up and answered groggily. "Hello?" Alyssa said sleepily.

"Alyssa," Eric answered excitedly.

"Do you have any idea what time it is, Eric?" Alyssa grumbled.

"Yes and I got a call," Eric replied, "She's alive, Alyssa!"

"What?" Alyssa asked.

"Taylor, look, I'll tell you more about it later, but I figured you'd want to know right away. Sleep tight."

Before Alyssa had a chance to answer, Eric cut the connection and shut off his phone. He got up from the stool and stumbled to his bed. Sleep was quickly taking over. Eric barely managed to strip down to his boxers before he crashed onto his bed. He was asleep before his head hit his pillow.


	14. Believe

Chapter 14: Believe

Wes sighed as he pulled up to Eric's trailer. He'd called Head Quarters to let them know he'd be running late. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Wes walked up to the door and took out the emergency key Eric had given him. A key he had hoped never to have to use. However, when Alyssa called him in near panic this morning, he knew that hope was out the window.

Alyssa explained Eric had called her that night in a delirious state, claiming to have talked to Taylor. She'd been trying to reach him, but his phone must have been shut off right after his call, for all her calls went straight to voicemail. Alyssa hadn't slept a wink for the rest of the night, waiting for a time that was socially acceptable to call Wes.

The moment he opened the door, Wes took in the mess that had become Eric's home. Picking his way to the clutter, he went on the short search of Eric's trailer for the man in question. Wes found him immediately, laying on his stomach in his bed. With trepidation, Wes stepped forward into the room. He jumped when Eric shifted in his sleep and let out a sigh of relief when his pulse started to settle down again. At least the guy hadn't gotten himself killed.

After making sure Eric was really just sleeping, Wes observed the room and decided if he was going to be late anyway, might as well clean some of this pigsty. He started with the dirty clothes on the floor and worked his way back to the living room.

An hour later he was near done cleaning the kitchen, the staff at the Collins Mansion would be proud, and was wiping down the breakfast bar when his hand hit the mouse of Eric's laptop. The screen jumped back to life at the touch and Wes could only stare in disbelieve.

Mechanically he pulled out his phone and dialed Alyssa's number. She picked up on the first ring.

"How is he?" she demanded.

"Fast asleep, has been for the past hour I've been here cleaning. Don't laugh. And it looks like he's been asleep for some time and will be for what seems like an even longer time. He's finally relaxed enough to allow himself real sleep."

"Good."

"Alyssa... He hasn't gone crazy..."

"Wes?"

"She did call last night. I'm staring at the print screen he shot as proof for himself. Taylor really is alive. Looks like she was hurt, her arm is in a sling, but she's alive."

Wes heard Alyssa breathe a sigh of relief. "She's really alive?" Alyssa asked.

"Looks like it," he replied, "I'm pretty sure he didn't quite realize the time, though he circled it, and figured you'd want to know right away." He looked back into the bedroom to see Eric was still dead to the world "And _he's_ been sleeping ever since," he added.

"I'm just glad they're both okay," Alyssa said with a small laugh. "And it was sweet of him to call me, even if he nearly gave me a heart attack and cost me years of my live worrying these past few hours."

"You and me both," Wes answered when he accidentally kicked an empty Jack Daniel's bottle on his way back to the kitchen. How had he missed that? With a wince, Wes looked over his shoulder at Eric and saw that he didn't even budge. ""And Eric does have a softer side to him. He just doesn't let it show too easily or to just anyone. But Alyssa, I'll give you a call back later," Wes told her.

"Alright, thanks, Wes. You're the best," Alyssa answered.

They hung up and Wes reached down grabbing the empty bottle. "Jeez, Eric," he muttered as he started to gather even more trash.

Several hours later, Eric woke up to darkness but when he looked over at his clock he saw that it read 4:30 in the morning. Sitting up, Eric pinched the bridge of his nose. He got out of bed and switched his light on. The first thing he noticed was the lack of dirty clothes on his floor, making him frown. Someone was in his house.

Tentatively getting up and grabbing his blaster from the drawer in his nightstand, he started looking around and found that his entire house was tidied up. "What the hell?" he muttered as he edged closer to the living room, blaster raised. Though what intruder would clean a house, he didn't know. Walking through his trailer, he saw a note taped to his refrigerator. He plucked the note off the door and read it over. "Your fridge smelt like a dead animal, your birds have been fed, and your house is clean. You're welcome. Call me. Wes," Eric read to himself.

Eric rolled his eyes, as he sat down on the stool in front of his counter, dropping his blaster down beside him. Glancing over at his computer, he saw Taylor's picture and he couldn't help but smile. She was alive, she was really alive and he was able to speak to her. Now all he wanted was for her to come home so he could hold her again. He glanced at the clock. It was a bit too early to call Wes just yet. His stomach rumbled and he figured he should probably make some kind of breakfast.

Getting off the stool, he searched through his fridge before he found something that would suffice. Stale bread and some peanut butter and jelly, it would be enough to make him feel full and get some protein in his system. He tossed the bread in the toaster and leaned against the counter. After eating his small meal, he went over to the bathroom to shower and shave.

It surprised Eric when he walked back into his bedroom that his alarm now read 5:30. He never was one for long showers, but the warm water beating down on his shoulders had felt so good, he'd been reluctant to get out. With a shrug, he dropped the towel and dug out a clean pair of boxers before picking up his cellphone and turning it back on.

He ignored all the missed calls and texted and hit 1 on speed dial. Jen had felt a definite mark on Wes's life style, the guy would be somewhere in the process of getting up and going out for a jog right now. It only took a few rings for the call to be answered.

"Well, good morning sunshine. Enjoying the world of the living? Hope you had a nice beauty sleep," Wes's voice answered very chipper.

"Fuck off," Eric told him, a smile on his face.

"I left that note _yesterday_ _morning_ , you slept through a whole day," Wes pointed out.

"That explains how my house was magically cleaned without me noticing."

"Yeah, you're welcome. I'm surprised I didn't find a family of pigs in that mess. Though, they'd probably had higher standards," Wes shot back. "You scared the hell out of Alyssa with your call, you know? Thought you'd gone mad and couldn't sleep another wink out of worry."

"I…"

"She called me, I called her back from your house. She'll probably thank you when she sees you next," Wes steamrolled over anything Eric might have said. "Anyway, don't even think about coming into work today just yet. Take it easy for a day or two and then we'll talk. Though, since you are in desperate need of groceries and thus need to get out of the house sometime today, you _are_ allowed to meet me at our favorite diner and buy me lunch. Let's call it a 'thank you'."

"Fine," Eric huffed, though he was secretly grateful. There was still a heaviness to his limps from exhaustion. "I'll be there at 12."

"See you then," Wes replied and disconnected the call.

After getting fully dressed, Eric wandered around his trailer at a loss of what to do. His eye landed on a stack of books that Wes had put on the coffee table. He was pretty sure he didn't own a copy of the book that lay on top, but he had seen it somewhere before. When he picked it up, a hint of wildflowers hit his nose and he smiled. Taylor had been reading the book and she must have forgotten to take it back home with her.

Once he'd made himself a cup of coffee, Eric settled on the couch and flipped open the book. He had some time to kill before meeting Wes and he might as well combine that lunch with his groceries run. Plus, Taylor had an impeccable taste in authors. He smiled when Taylor's face flashed through his mind. She was alive and he hoped soon she would be home where she belonged.


	15. Home

Chapter 15: Home

As the plane was making its descent, Taylor's leg started bouncing uncontrollably. Masen, sitting next to her, rested his hand on her knee to calm her. She shot him a smile and turned back to looking out the window. After months of deployment she was almost home. Taylor didn't doubt Eric being honest with her, but still, she called Wes just before breaking camp as Eric had told her she could. Wes had actually laughed at her when he assured Taylor had been the only girl on Eric's mind these past months.

When the plane landed, Taylor couldn't help but feel relieved to see the tarmac and kept her headphones over her head. She was tired and hungry. She was done with all of the traveling, she was grateful that her deployment was officially over at touchdown. When it was time to exit the plane, Masen let her get out before him, giving her a kiss on the cheek and she smiled back to him before grabbing her knapsack.

"Go get 'em, Eagle," Masen called after her.

Exiting the gate, Taylor looked around for any indication that her friends were there with a huge banner, shouts, hoots, hollers, and maybe even those annoying noisemakers that Max seems to always buy for celebrations. Her heart dropped a little when she realized they weren't there.

"Hey, Earhardt!" a familiar voice called out and she felt her heart jump and skip several beats. Turning to her left, she saw that just past the gate waiting by one of the magazine stands was Eric. Seeing him there waiting for her, it spoke volumes as she slowly started moving in his direction.

Eric had his hands in his leather jacket pockets, smirking as she made her way to him. She walked up to him and just as she was close enough, she dropped the knapsack on the floor and threw her arms around him. Eric hugged her back, his arms wrapped around her as he lifted her up. Just as her feet were off the floor, she wrapped her legs around his hips. She had her arms around his neck and let out a deep breath. They could faintly hear other passengers or families clapping for the reunited couple. Pulling back a little, she leaned down and kissed him deeply.

Eric kissed her back, holding her tighter if it were possible. She smiled against his mouth when she felt his body react. Pulling away, she kissed his cheek before leaning in close to his ear. "Let's get out of here," she whispered. He set her back on the floor, grabbing her bag before they left the airport.

As they reached the elevator to get to his car, he had her up against the elevator wall kissing her. Taylor answered his kiss with the same desperation, like she hadn't had a drink since her deployment and he was a drop of water. There was no doubt in her mind that she could wait until they reached a bed and with the way he was pressing against her, he probably couldn't either.

They reached his car and he held the door open for her. Once he'd climbed in beside her, Taylor rested one hand on his thigh and moved to claim his lips again.

"Not here," Eric told her and started the engine.

Taylor actually pouted at him, but knew his was right. They weren't shy to say the least, but maybe the parking garage of the airport was just a tad bit too public. Eric drove them to a nearby service road and Taylor was on him as soon as the car was in park. She did raise an eyebrow at Eric digging out a condom from his pocket.

"You were planning this?" she asked.

"I might have had hopes you were about as eager as me to get this show back on the road," he smirked in reply.

In answer, Taylor snatched the condom out of his hand and tore open the wrapper with her teeth. The look on Eric's face told her he was about to blow his load from just watching her. When she unzipped his fly, she found he'd gone commando today. Eric's eye widened when she slipped out of her pants and found Taylor had had the same idea about needing underwear.

As Taylor slowly lowered herself onto him, she knew this would be quick and would leave her frustrated and wanting more. But she also knew this was just foreplay to tie them over for the ride home. He let the chair go back a little more and she moaned loudly as she started to move up and down on him. It wasn't long before he was reaching his peak and Taylor gripped his shoulders as he gripped her waist tightly. "Shit," he muttered. Taylor leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.

"We have all night for you to make it up to me," she commented.

"All night? You're mine for the whole weekend." He answered.

Taylor smiled. "Then what are we waiting for?" she asked as she slid back into her seat. Taylor got her pants back on as he fixed his and did up his fly. He got the car into drive and raced down the road.

When they pulled up to Eric's trailer, Taylor was about to get out of the car, but Eric's hand on her leg stopped her.

"What? Your bed is just over there and your neighbors might see here. Don't want Alice catching us, do you?"

"Hell no, but I want to play a little game."

"What kind of game?"

"An Easter Egg hunt, of sorts. Every time you find an item, you get to claim a reward."

"And what items am I looking for exactly?"

"You'll see," Eric smirked and handed her his keys.

They got out of the car and Eric followed Taylor to his front door. Tentatively Taylor unlocked the door and pushed it open. Immediately her eyes spotted the condom on a string. She pulled it off and waved it at Eric. "I think I just found something. What's my reward?" she grinned.

In answer, Eric stepped closer, moved them into the trailer and pushed the door closed behind him. Taylor's grin grew bigger. "I think I'm liking this game," she told him just before his lips claimed hers hungrily. They ended up on the bed, clothes were stripped off quickly. Hands and lips were touching everywhere on each other.

Eric let out a grunt as Taylor sunk her teeth into his shoulder but then he left his own bite on the spot between her neck and shoulder. Taylor let out a loud moan, her nails gripping his back as she arched her hips against his. Eric kissed her deeply as they started their pace.

Taylor felt the familiar spring start to tighten, which made her moan loudly and tilt her head back as the pleasure rocked through her. Their hands were above their heads, entwined together as their bodies moved together. His forehead was resting against hers as he let out a grunt when he thrust into her again and again. They came together this time; he went to fall on his side but she pulled him down wanting to feel his weight on her. Their breathing was ragged, but they held each other.

They were laying silently in the bed, staring at each other when Taylor's hand slipped underneath her pillow. She felt something and she smirked. "Myers, you're incorrigible," she commented, making him chuckle.

"You love it," he answered.

Eric started kissing down her body, making her sigh and gasp he kissed her flat stomach and his hands moved along her hips towards her thighs. She let out a breath, tilting her head back again as he started the next round.

Later, Taylor stretched her body contently in the bed, only now noting the sheets smelled fresh. She grinned to herself and looked at Eric. He'd definitely been planning ahead when he'd come to pick her up from the airport. Eric stole a kiss before rolling out of bed and started looking for his boxers.

"So, I'm not planning on cooking tonight. Thought we'd order take out instead. Anything particular you'd like? Chinese? Thai? Pizza?" he was saying as he moved around the bedroom.

Taylor barely heard him as she stared at his ass. Her mouth dropped open. Eric finally located his boxers and fished them off the ground before turning around when Taylor failed to reply. He caught a look at her expression and cringed.

"What's that on your ass, Myers?" she finally managed to speak once she caught his eye.

"Remember that bet with Wes I told you about?"

"The one you couldn't lose?"

"Yeah… I lost."

"Obviously," Taylor noted. "And why didn't you tell me?"

"I was going to, but then your camp got attacked and you received that," he replied, pointing at the scar by her collarbone. "It slipped my mind after that. But I'm thinking of getting it covered up with a Q-Rex instead."

"Don't you dare," Taylor grinned. "I like Wes's sense of humour. We could get that Q-Rex tattooed on my ass if you want."

"Absolutely not," Eric growled. "If you want a tattoo, fine. But your ass is perfect the way it is. Don't you dare ink it."

Taylor laughed and nodded. "Okay," she agreed. "But I can't wait to tell the guys your friend got a yellow eagle tattooed on your ass. They'll never belief me."

"You're evil," he answered.

"You love me for it," she quipped.

Walking over, he rested his hand on the side of her neck and kissed her. Taylor kissed him back, resting her hand over his.


	16. Unexpected Party

**Author's Note: Hey everyone! This chapter is dedicated to my friend Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow, don't forget to go check out her new story _Basically Babies!_ Also, if I don't update again for a while, I apologize ahead of time. I will be meeting up with AH/AY to go to Power Morphicon 2018! This is exciting! Enjoy the chapter everyone! Please don't forget _Basically Babies_!**

Chapter 16: Unexpected Party

Alyssa was pacing the living room with a worried expression on her face. "Maybe her flight was delayed?" Cole asked.

"You'd think she would've called," she replied. "And where are Eric and Wes? They should've been here by now."

She saw her fiancé's face pale and she frowned. "What's wrong?" she asked. Cole cleared his throat.

"Well…when I was running out and getting everything you needed me to get. I…think I forgot to make those calls to Eric and Wes," he replied.

Alyssa's eyes were wide. "Then who picked her up?!" she exclaimed.

"Alyssa…" Cole started to say as she grabbed her phone.

Wes was going over his paperwork in his office when his phone started to ring. Wes reached over and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he answered confused.

"Wes, thank god. So Taylor was supposed to come home today and we were throwing her a welcome home party. But Cole forgot to call you and Eric to invite you. But Taylor never got home and we checked her flight and it landed on time. She didn't bring her cellphone on deployment, so we can't call to ask where is. We're launching a search party. Tried calling Eric, but the call went straight to voicemail. Oh god, you aren't on a stealth mission kind of thing are you? I'm not interrupting anything?"

"Alyssa, breathe. Eric has taken the week off and I'm in the office with my paperwork..."

"Oh, then we'll meet up at Eric's place." Alyssa interrupted.

Wes just smirked a little as he turned over another page and started writing on the next one. "Yeah, I'm not going there and I wouldn't go there either if I were you if Taylor is missing. Your search would be short. I'm pretty sure Taylor is there." He answered.

"Shouldn't we make sure?" she asked.

"Have you already forgotten your complaints whenever Eric slept over? Eric is due back at work on Monday. So tell you what, if Taylor isn't delivered home by Monday morning, I'll pour all the Silver Guardians' resources into finding her. Plus, she called me before shipping back to ask if Eric honestly hadn't shopped around." Wes assured her.

Alyssa hung up and looked at the others. "What?" Danny asked.

"Wes thinks she's with Eric," she replied in disbelief.

"Why would he think that?" Max asked.

"He took a week off work," Alyssa replied.

They looked at each other, but then Max had an evil grin on his face. "Max…" Danny started to say.

"We won't be seeing Taylor for a long time," he answered.

The others sighed and Alyssa rubbed the back of her neck, knowing fully well that it was true and she looked at Cole. The former Red Wild Force Ranger smiled sheepishly at his fiancé and cleared his throat. "Anyone want anything to drink?" he asked and then walked away before anyone else could answer.

"You're sleeping in the doghouse literally!" Alyssa called out to him.

"I know," he called back.

Alyssa sat back in her seat, letting out a sigh of disappointment. "We'll be able to welcome her home after Eric gets his turn," Max answered. She shot him a glare.

"Max, not helping," Danny insisted.

Max shrugged before Alyssa got up and went to find Cole.

The next morning, Taylor woke up to sleeping on a comfortable bed instead of the uncomfortable cots she had to get used to. She stretched her body out and sighed contently with a smile on her face. "Morning," Eric greeted from the doorway. She looked over and smiled as Eric walked in with a tray of food.

"Morning," she answered.

Eric leaned over and pressed a kiss to her lips. Taylor happily kissed him back, and then sat up as he set the tray on the bed. She found his shirt, pulling it on, and then she set the tray in her lap. Eric sat next to her and she held up a forkful of eggs. He took the offer and leaned back against the headboard. "So what should we do today?" she asked.

"Well, we haven't quite finished the game," he replied with a smirk.

Taylor rolled her eyes before taking a bite of her toast. "You're hilarious," she commented.

"You like having me around," he answered.

"That I do," she agreed.

They ended up eating the rest of her breakfast together before Taylor set the tray down and leaned into him again. She entwined her fingers with his and smiled as she just relaxed in her man's arms. "So, I take it we're back on?" she asked.

"Yep, as I had hoped," he replied.

"Good," she said smiling.

She sat up and she moved to straddle his lap. She moved her arms around his neck before leaning forward and kissing him. Eric kissed her back, moving so she was laying on her back, holding her close. Taylor's hands moved down his back, reaching for the hem of his t-shirt he was wearing to pull it up. Soon their clothes were back on the floor and they were going for another round. They had gotten to the point where they had simply lost count, but it didn't matter because she was finally home again.

It was later in the afternoon before Taylor insisted on getting up to do something productive. Even though Eric was reluctant to shower and dress for the day, but she was able to bribe him into it for more fun later. They wound up in the middle of downtown. Taylor watched as everyone went about their day, not having any care in the world. "So have you talked to anyone else?" he asked.

"When have I had the time?" she teased as she playfully bumped her hip with his.

Eric just smirked as he moved his arm around her shoulders. "I should at least call my brother at some point, he's going to start to wonder when I'm coming home," she added.

"Maybe we can give him a call later?" he suggested.

Taylor thought about it but she just smiled. "No, I would rather hang onto this moment with you," she answered, leaning into him again as they started walking. Eric moved his arm around her back, enjoying the feel of her close to him.

"Welcome home, Earhardt," he told her.

"I'm glad to be home, Myers," She replied.

She stopped walking and wrapped her arms around his waist. Eric moved his arms around her back before he leaned forward and kissed her deeply. The kiss was returned and they held onto each other without a single care in the world.


	17. The Move

**Author's Note: SO sorry for this long delay in chapter updating. With Morphicon last month, trying to get back into reality this month it was just yeah something else haha. It was amazing though, hanging out with Ashley Hammond/Astro Yellow was awesome and meeting so many of the actors and actresses who played Rangers was like a dream come true! Anyways, here's the chapter!**

Chapter 17: The Move

Over the next two weeks Eric and Taylor spend as much time together as their schedules would allow. All the while, Taylor was also hunting for a new apartment. However, the search was not going well. Apartments were either too expensive for Taylor to afford on her own or they were not in a state she'd consider living in. When she finally did find a good one, it was already rented out before she could take a look. Alyssa was very patient, still paying her part of the rent even though she'd started the process of moving out and had all her stuff packed up and spend most of her time at Cole's. But it frustrated Taylor to no end, feeling like she was holding her friend back.

The wedding was scheduled in less than a month and Taylor did not want anyone in the middle of the stress of moving when that came around.

At the moment Taylor was sitting down to her lunch with a newspaper, circling possible apartments in the adds she would call in for after work. Masen dropped down with his tray across from her and frowned.

"Still no luck finding a new place?" he asked.

"No," Taylor sighed and looked up at him. "They're either crap, too expensive, taken or the landlord won't rent out to Air Force because they don't want to deal with the apartment not being lived in should I get deployed again."

"That sucks. Maybe I can help?"

"And how could you help? I'm not rooming with you."

"Not was I was suggesting," Masen raised his hands in defence. "But I happen to talk to my neighbours every now and then. My cute neighbour one floor up, you know, in the apartment across the hall from mine. Well, she got offered her dream job in Chicago and she's moving next week. The landlord hasn't put out any advertising for a new tenant yet. I could give him a call, put in a good word for you and see if I can sweet-talk him into renting it out to you. If you want? You know the building is clean and well-kept, plus you can definitely afford it since you make more than I do."

Taylor put the paper down. "You would seriously do that?" she asked.

"I'm not going to have you live homeless, besides, it's close to the base so it'll be easy for you to get to and from work," he replied, "We can even carpool."

Taylor got up from her seat and she hugged him. "Thank you!" she said relieved. Masen hugged her back and she kissed his cheek.

That evening, Taylor arrived back at the apartment to see Eric's SUV sitting out front. Getting out of her car, she swung her keys around on her finger as she walked up and opened the door. "Myers?" she called out.

"In here, Earhardt," he replied from the kitchen.

Taylor walked into the kitchen to see him fixing dinner. "How did you get in?" she asked.

"Alyssa let me in before she went off to hers and Cole's place," he replied.

Taylor threw her keys on the counter and the two of them shared a brief kiss. "I'm glad you're here actually," she commented as she sat on the counter.

"Why's that?" he asked, glancing at her.

"I may have finally found an apartment," she replied, "Well, Masen found it."

Eric stopped what he was doing for a second and turned the heat down on the stove. Slowly, he turned around and leaned against the opposite counter across from her. "What did he find?" he asked. Taylor was more than happy to tell him about the neighbour that was leaving, but while Eric was giving her that small smirk he always gave whenever she was excited about something, he felt his stomach tightening up.

Taylor stopped her little ramble about the apartment when she noticed that her partner wasn't saying much of anything. "Isn't it great?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm glad you finally have a place to go," he replied.

He suddenly smelt the food starting to burn and went back to the stove. Taylor frowned. "You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, just a long day with new recruits," he replied, "Wes thought it was a good idea I'd do the training today."

Taylor slid off the counter and she moved her arms around his waist and her chin over his shoulder. Eric let out a breath as he felt her body up against his and this time he couldn't help but smile. Her hand moved up and down his chest before moving along his abdomen. "You're an evil woman," he commented.

"I have a sexy man in my kitchen, can you blame me?" she purred into his ear.

Eric smirked before he turned the stove off and turned around in her arms. He moved his arms around her back and they kissed deeply and passionately. Taylor moved her arms up and around his shoulders, smiling at his mouth as he moved her back against the counter she was just sitting on.

Later that week, they were moving all of Taylor's belongings into a moving van. Eric was packing up some of Taylor's things into a box when he saw Wes and Masen lifting the couch up. "Hey, wait, wait!" Wes called out, "I don't have a good grip." Eric just smirked before taping the box up. "You could help you know," Wes commented.

"What do you think I'm doing over here?" he answered.

Wes sighed as he and Masen carried the couch out to the moving van as Taylor walked up. She moved her arm around his back and Eric gave her a smirk before looking back at the two of them. "I'm curious," he commented.

"About?" she asked.

"Did Alyssa ever find out what we did on that couch?" he asked.

Taylor shoved him. "God, no!" she answered, "And you better keep that down or Wes won't help you lift it into the apartment." Eric laughed a little at the idea of his friend's sickened expression if he knew the things he and Taylor had done on that couch when they were alone. Taylor smiled before she went to grab one of her boxes to take out to Masen's truck.

When they were done loading everything up, Taylor let out a breath as she closed the back. "Alright, you're all set," she commented as she jumped off the bumper.

"You heading over?" Eric asked.

"No, I'm going to stay here and pack what's left and put it in Masen's truck," she replied.

"Then we'll meet you over there then," he stated.

"Do you have the key?" she asked.

Eric reached into his pocket, pulling out a separate key ring form his keys and showing her the small spare key she gave him for the move. "Good, see you over there," she told him.

"See ya," Eric replied.

They got into the truck, driving off as Taylor went back into the house with Masen.

Later at Taylor's new apartment, Eric went searching for Taylor after he brought in the last of her boxes from the truck. "Hey, I should probably give this back now," Eric approached Taylor and Masen unpacking the pots and pans in the kitchen.

"If you go on a pizza and beer run, you can keep it. You boys deserve some grub on me for helping me move," Taylor answered, not looking up.

Eric nodded and grabbed her wallet of the counter before leaving the apartment.

"Going to the chapel and we're gonna get married," Masen sang quietly in Taylor's ear. In retaliation, Taylor hit him over the head with the spatula she just pulled out of a box.

"Jeez! Violent much?" he asked, rubbing his head.

"Will you stop making fun of what Myers and I have?" she asked.

"Come on, Taylor, you can fool a lot of people but not me," he replied.

Taylor gave him a glare. "You trust him enough to take a key and your wallet," he commented.

"It doesn't mean I'm marrying the man. That is one institution I DON'T believe in," she answered.

"Marriage isn't that bad, Tay," he commented.

Taylor just continued to unpack, signalling to Masen that she was done with that part of the conversation. He shook his head slowly and continued unpacking with her.

Later, Eric and Taylor were sitting on the couch with pizza and beer. Taylor was leaning into Eric while Eric was leaning against the arm of the couch. Wes was on the other side of the couch while Masen sat on the floor. "Hey, Masen, do you have the time?" Wes asked. Masen looked at his phone.

"It's almost 22:00," Masen replied, "And I have to be up at 04:30."

"Then your ass better get going," Taylor commented.

"Yeah, yeah," he muttered as he got up.

Taylor just smirked as Eric moved his arm around her shoulders. "So, Myers, do you want to stay and see if they put the bed back together properly?" she asked.

"As much fun as that sounds, I didn't bring a change of clothes with me this time," Eric replied.

"You keep a spare uniform in your guest room at the house, I'll bring it by headquarters in the morning," Wes replied as he stood up.

Taylor laughed a little as Eric just shrugged his shoulders. "Guess I'm staying," he commented.

"See you later, Taylor," Masen called to her.

"See ya! And thanks!" Taylor called out.

"Anytime," he answered before leaving.

Wes grabbed his keys off the table. "I'll see you tomorrow," he told Eric.

"Bye," Eric answered.

Wes waved to Taylor before leaving. Taylor waited until she heard her door close and she slid into Eric's lap. "You're not wasting any time," he commented.

"Absolutely not," she replied before kissing him.


	18. Jealousy

**Author's Note: Hey everyone, I wanted to inform you as to why the updates have been later. I have been working on a movie deal for the last several months, I am in the delicate stages and I can't reveal anything else. Only few people know what's going on, but I just wanted you, my readers to know that I haven't forgotten you or these stories. I will update when I have the time in between everything. I love you all and thank you for your patience.**

Chapter 18: Jealousy

The week after Taylor moved to her new apartment, both Eric and Taylor schedules refused to line up. Eric was working late every day and though they talked on the phone every now and then, they couldn't manage to make it over.

Wes walked into Eric's office with some papers and found his partner playing with his keys, or more particularly Taylor's key. He smiled slightly and shook his head.

"I've got an idea," he spoke up, making Eric jump. "You get out of here now and surprise her."

"What's it gonna cost me?" Eric asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes at his friend.

"Who said anything about cost?" At Eric's glare, Wes caved. "Okay, so apparently those investors I'm meeting tomorrow expected you to be there too."

"Tomorrow is Saturday," Eric protested. "I'm going to be expected to dress up in one of those monkey suits, aren't I?"

"They are invited to dine at the house later, yeah."

"Fine," Eric sighed and started clearing his desk.

"I'll have the cook add your favorite to the menu," Wes grinned.

Eric flipped him off as he left his office. On his way to Taylor's apartment he stopped at a grocery store to pick up ingredients for dinner. An hour later dinner was done and Taylor was due home any minute. Eric had set the table and placed a spare key to his trailer next to Taylor's plate. When dinner was done, he turned off the stove and set to wait for Taylor to get home.

Taylor walked into her apartment, her head pleasantly buzzing from alcohol. When she flipped on the lights she spotted the table had been set for two, but her apartment was empty. A note was stuck to the fridge.

'Dinner's in the fridge. Guess I missed you.'

She checked the time. It was bordering on being too late to call. Still Taylor dug out her cellphone and dialed Eric's number. He answered after a few rings.

"I thought you were working late all week," she greeted him, picking up the key from the table and turning it over in her hands.

"Wes let me off early to surprise you."

"Masen invited some of us over for a drink. I would have come straight home if you'd called."

"That would've ruined the whole point of surprising you," Eric sighed.

"True," Taylor agreed. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow?"

"Can't, Wes is meeting some investors at the Biolab and apparently they were expecting me to be there too."

"Dinner then?"

"Dinner is included at the Collins's Manor."

"Oh."

"Look, I'd love to keep talking, but if I want to be somewhat charming to those investors I should be getting some sleep now," Eric told her gently.

"Yeah, don't want your sunshine personality to scare them off," Taylor laughed. "Call me when you get a minute?"

"Sure. Night, Earhardt."

"Night, Myers."

The next day, Eric was standing in the Collins's home, fidgeting with the tie around his neck. "Would you stop?" Wes scolded him with a smirk.

"I hate these things," Eric muttered.

Wes frowned, noticing that his friend was grouchier than ever. "I would've thought seeing Taylor last night would've made your mood a little…lighter," Wes commented.

"Can't see her is she's not home," Eric replied with a breath.

"Well, they'll be here in ten minutes," Wes told him, patting his shoulder before leaving.

Eric walked downstairs a little later to the sound of the doorbell ringing. He was expecting it to be the investors they had been waiting to meet. When the door opened, however, his eyes grew wide. Standing there, in a floor-length yellow dress, was his girl. Taylor walked into the house and smiled when she saw Eric. "What are you doing here?" he said stunned.

"I came to see you," she replied, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Eric moved his arms around her back, smiling at her. "I missed you yesterday, wasn't going to let some investors getting in the way of seeing you today. Plus, Wes was more than happy to invite me over for dinner," she added. Eric moved his hand over her back as she smiled softly at him.

"The plan was for me to stay here tonight," he commented.

Taylor just smiled as she pulled back a little and moved her hand up his arm. "Well, as long as you're willing to share the bed, does it really where we're sleeping?" she asked, quirking a brow at him. Eric smiled before she pulled him down to kiss him.

Later that night, Eric was watching her sleep. The sheets had slipped down around her waist, she had one hand tucked into her pillowcase, while her other hand rested under her cheek. She was a pain in his ass, but she would always be the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Reaching over, he let his thumb trace down over her arm. "That tickles," she muttered, her eyes still closed. Eric chuckled softly as he moved over and kissed her. She kissed him back, letting her eyes flutter open. "I can't sleep when you stare at me," she commented.

"Well I'm not going to apologize for admiring my girl," he replied.

Taylor moved so he was on his back and she was laying on top of him. "You know, normally, I'd deck a guy for putting a label like that on me," she commented. Eric reached up, moving his hand through her hair.

"Well, it's better than saying 'girlfriend' or whatever," he answered.

Taylor smiled a little at him. "True," she agreed. He let out a breath as they stared at each other for a few minutes. "What are you thinking?" she finally asked.

"Wes is going to be a pain in my ass in the morning," he replied.

Taylor laughed. "Well, if he's going to be a pain, we might as well make it worth our while."

Eric couldn't help but agree and pulled her down to claim her lips.

Over the next two weeks, Eric and Taylor managed to see each other more. But their time spend together wasn't much of a comfort to Eric. Taylor surprised him once or twice at his house, but he mostly made his way to Turtle Cove. And when he did, Masen would leave Taylor's apartment when he arrived or Taylor would emerge from Masen's door as he climbed the stairs.

As much as he trusted Taylor, she had a history with Masen and the amount of time she was spending with him now… It made Eric a little uneasy. What was stopping Masen from making a move?

Eric was pulling a nightshift today so he couldn't see Taylor. But something nagged at him. Checking to make sure nothing needed his immediate attention, he pulled out his cellphone and dialed her number.

"Hey," Taylor greeted brightly, sounding a little out of breath. "Bored already?"

"Without you, always," he smiled. "What are you doing?"

"Pizza and a movie with Masen," Taylor replied. "He's just at the door getting the pizza."

Eric felt his stomach drop. She'd told him about 'pizza and a movie' when she first told him of their friends with occasional benefits arrangement.

"I'll let you get to it then. They just brought in someone they need my help dealing with. I'll talk to you later." Eric quickly hang up, feeling like his world just feel apart. He never thought Taylor would cheat on him. Never expected her to be that kind of girl. And to openly admit it to him too.

For the rest of the shift, the Guardians quickly learned to avoid Eric and his foul mood at any cost.

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, I wanted to inform you as to why the updates have been later. I have been working on a movie deal for the last several months, I am in the delicate stages and I can't reveal anything else. Only few people know what's going on, but I just wanted you, my readers to know that I haven't forgotten you or these stories. I will update when I have the time in between everything. I love you all and thank you for your patience.**


	19. Over

Chapter 19: Over

A week passed, Taylor was starting to feel like something was a bit off. She hadn't heard from Eric at all that entire week. Not a text, not an email, a phone call, nothing. At least once a day even if it was just a 'hey, have a good one', she heard from Eric in some shape or form. Now, she was finding herself being the worried girlfriend because she hadn't heard from him.

Taylor was walking over to her car when Masen walked up. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. Taylor looked up.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean why do you look like you're a thousand miles away?" Masen asked as he leaned against her car.

Letting out a sigh, she turned and leaned against the car beside him. "Eric's been acting weird," she replied. Masen raised his brow at her.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied, "I'm hoping so."

"Well, he's a Silver Guardian right? Maybe he's just having a rough week?" he suggested.

"Possibly, but even then he tells me," she replied.

She let out another deep breath and tilted her head back. "This is why I don't like relationships," she commented.

"Well, relationships aren't all happy all the time," he answered, "And if you guys are happy all the time without arguments and just lovey, dovey, then something is wrong."

Taylor was silent, crossing her arms as she thought about what he was telling her and nodded her head in agreement.

"Go and surprise him with dinner," Masen suggested. "How can he be unhappy if his girlfriend shows up with food to boot?"

Taylor smiled. That was the best idea yet and she didn't know why she hadn't thought of it. So she dropped Masen off at home and drove to Silver Hills, making a stop at Eric's favorite restaurant for take out on the way to his house. Getting out her key, she waltzed into his house with a bright smile on her face.

It immediately dropped when she spotted Eric sitting on his couch. He didn't look so good and there was a beer in his hand. From the empty bottles in front of him, it wasn't the first one either. But what shocked her was the glare he was throwing her way.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Surprising my boyfriend with dinner and sex," Taylor replied, holding up the bags.

"Oh, you're suddenly interested again?" Eric growled. "What's wrong? Masen boring you?"

Taylor took a step back in surprise. "What does Masen have to do with this?" she demanded.

"Don't play innocent with me," Eric bit back. "I don't like being played."

"I'm not playing you," Taylor snapped.

"Right and I'm supposed to believe that? Ever since you moved it's all been Masen this, Masen that. And he's always over at your place or you at his. I know what's going on."

"And what is going on?" Taylor asked angrily. "Masen is my friend, we hang out."

"Well then, why don't you go 'hang out' with him now? Have pizza with him. Just get out of my house."

Eric stood up and stood toe to toe with her. Taylor was fuming.

"Fine, I'll go. Call me when you're a rational human being again."

"Don't hold your breath for that call," Eric called after her as she slammed the door.

The bags of food disappeared into the nearest dumpster and Taylor angrily tore away from the curb. Back at home she entered the building and pounded on Masen's door. He opened a few moments later with the phone to his ear, a laugh on his face. One look at her and he immediately sobered.

"I'll call you back," Masen told whoever was on the line and cut the connection. "What's going on? I thought you weren't going to be back until tomorrow."

"I think Eric and I just broke up," Taylor replied.

"Why?" Masen asked surprised.

"I'm not sure and he didn't say in so many words… But I think he thinks we're sleeping together," Taylor fumed.

Silently Masen pulled Taylor into his arms. It surprised the both of them when she started crying.

Weeks went by and Wes noticed that something was off with Eric. He was grouchier than usual and he kept taking it out on the new recruits. During one particular lesson, Wes saw Eric just berating this young recruit for messing up on the shooting range. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Eric demanded.

"No sir," the recruit said nervously.

Eric made the young man look at his blaster. "Your safety's on, check that before you even try shooting the damn thing," he snapped.

"Eric," Wes called to him.

"You damn kids just don't do any of this right, this isn't rocket science!" Eric snapped.

"Eric!" Wes said a little louder and firmer.

Reluctantly, Eric looked at Wes. "What?" he snapped.

"How about stepping away from the recruit before you make him piss his pants?" Wes suggested.

Eric looked back at the terrified young man before walking away. Wes gave the kid a reassuring nod before following him. "What the hell is going on with you?" Wes demanded.

"What does it matter?" Eric answered.

"Well you walk around like you're about to shoot someone's head off if they just breathe wrong," Wes commented.

"Sometimes I want to," Eric replied.

Wes grabbed onto his arm, but Eric easily jerked it away from him. "Hey, I don't care what's going on home but I'm not going to let you come here and bully the new kids! They work their asses off to get into this program to learn, not to get the shit scared out of them by you every day!" Wes snapped.

"Are you giving me orders now?" Eric asked as he kept walking.

Wes felt his blood boil now and his sharp blue eyes glared at him. "I'm taking you off the training program," he answered.

"I don't care," Eric told him.

"How about I just take you off patrol all together?" Wes answered.

This caught his attention and he looked at him. "What the hell is going on with you?" Wes demanded.

"Nothing," Eric replied.

"Bullshit," Wes snapped.

Eric just shook his head, turning to walk away. "Eric, if you walk through those doors and not tell me what the hell is going on. I am taking you off patrol and your ass is just going to sit in your office!" Wes called out to him.

"I'm not a damn child," Eric snapped.

"You sure are acting like one," Wes answered.

Eric let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm not going to have you walking around here like some madman," Wes told him angrily. Eric let out a heavy breath. "Is it Taylor?" he asked, "Is this still about what happened between you two?"

"What's it to you?" Eric muttered.

"Why don't you just go and apologize to her?" Wes answered.

"Why should I apologize?" he demanded.

Eric glared at him. "I want nothing to do with her," he muttered before he walked back to his office. Wes shook his head and went back over to the training grounds to take over the training sessions that day.

Back on the base, Taylor was landing her jet. "Welcome back, Eagle," Masen greeted into her earpiece. Taylor let out a breath as she opened the top to her jet and climbed out. Masen walked over to her. "Great flying up there," he commented.

"Yeah, it was a good day to fly," she replied.

Masen frowned, ever since the breakup, Taylor was back to the cold, unfeeling soldier she used to be before Eric entered her life. "What are you doing later?" he asked.

"It's Friday night, I'm going to probably just sit in my living room and watch movies all night," she replied.

"Why don't you just call Eric? You've been miserable since your fight."

"No, he shouldn't have accused me of things that aren't true," Taylor shook her head.

"Yeah, whatever did he accuse you off?" Masen wanted to know. Taylor had been tight-lipped about it.

"He thought I was cheating," Taylor fumed.

"Why would he think that? And with who?" Masen asked surprised.

"You."

"Me?" Masen asked surprised, but then realisation hit. "We have been hanging out a lot more lately. Does he know about us?"

"Of course, I had no secrets from him."

"Taylor, I would be worried in his case too," Masen sighed. "Let's go get a pizza and beer and once you're drunk enough you can call him."

"Oh, he'd just love us eating pizza together," Taylor rolled her eyes.

"Wait, what did you tell Eric that night he called?"

"That we were hanging out with pizza and a movie."

"Taylor," Masen groaned. "Did you tell Eric when you told him about us that 'pizza and a movie' was our code on base to hook up?"

Taylor stopped dead in her tracks and paled.

"I don't care how you get him there, but tomorrow I'm taking the both of you out to dinner and we can clear up this mess we unintentionally made."


	20. The Dinner

Chapter 20: The Dinner

Pulling up to the same small home, Taylor stared at Eric's house and leaned back against the driver's seat with a deep breath with her eyes closed. Masen had set up the reservations, but she decided to arrive to Eric's house early. He was still at work, perfect.

Getting out of her car, she walked up to the front door, pulling out her key she never gave back to him and went inside.

Looking around, she wasn't surprised to see the beer bottles scattering the house. She shook her head slowly, first of all, she wasn't going to try to do this with trash everywhere. She cleaned up the mess and was searching for some other cleaning supplies when she found something in his utility drawer. She grabbed the foiled packet and a smirk appeared on her face, remembering his little 'Easter Egg' hunt he had come up with. She couldn't help but wondering how many more of these he had hidden in this house.

Walking back over to her duffel bag, Taylor grabbed a plastic bag that was sitting on the coffee table and made her way down the hall to the bathroom to change.

When Eric arrived home, he scowled when he saw Taylor's car in his driveway. "What the hell is she doing here?" he muttered, turning off his car and getting out. Making his way up the gravel driveway, he opened the door ready for an argument.

What he got was dim lights and Taylor was sitting in his chair. She had on a pair of tight black jeans that showed off every curve as she purposefully crossed her legs, bobbing her foot up and down. She had on an off the shoulder yellow shirt and he could see that she only had a spaghetti strapped yellow tank top on underneath, or so that's all he could see. "What are you doing here?" he asked irritably as he tossed his keys on the table.

She answered with holding the foiled packet up between her fingers. "Masen is taking us out to dinner and if you keep your mouth shut and come willingly, we have time for a quicky before then."

"He's paying?"

"Yeah."

"Fine, I'm not about to pass up free food."

He had to admit, seeing her dressed like she was made his pants a little tighter. Just as she stood up, he walked over and grabbed her by her waist, shoving her up against the wall. Their mouths collided in a rough but heavy kiss as their hands started pulling at each other's clothes immediately. He undid the tight pants, pulling them down her hips when he noticed the red, laced panties she had on underneath. "You're an evil bitch sometimes," he growled a little.

"And you're a jackass," she answered.

Eric kissed her harder and they fell back on the couch together.

At the restaurant, Taylor and Eric were sitting at the table waiting for Masen to arrive. Eric had ordered a beer and he looked at his ex. "What?" she asked.

"Why exactly am I here?" he asked.

"Masen's idea, again he's paying," she replied, "Be nice."

Eric took a swig from his beer bottle when Masen entered the restaurant. Taylor waved him over and Masen held his hand up to gesture to hang on for a second. He turned around and opened the door again, this time letting a woman in. She was tall, with shoulder-length brown hair, matching brown eyes, she had curves in all the right places, and a smile to match. She had on a pair of black stiletto heels, a black skirt, and a red blouse. In her hand she was holding a red clutch.

Masen walked over to the table and the girl had her arm looped through his. "Hey," he greeted Taylor.

"Hey," Taylor answered, standing up and the two shared a quick hug.

Releasing Taylor, Masen looked over at Eric who just gave him a slight wave. "I'd like you both to meet Hayley," he informed them. Eric stared at Hayley and stood up from his chair, not wanting to be impolite. "My fiancé," Masen added, surprising both Eric and Taylor.

"Pleasure," Hayley said smiling, her voice thick with a British accent, holding out her hand.

"Nice to meet you," Taylor said surprised as she shook Hayley's hand.

Hayley smiled and she shook Eric's hand. "So you two are together?" she asked.

"Yes," Eric replied almost immediately.

Taylor couldn't help but smile as they sat down at the table. "How did you two meet?" Taylor asked. She reached under the table, holding onto Eric's hand. Eric gave her hand a squeeze and then took another swig from his beer bottle.

"It was during the small bit of leave we had after department. I was at a grocery store, stocking up on food and she saw how full my cart was and made a comment about how I had enough food to feed an army," Masen replied.

Hayley just smiled at him. "He looked like I had just caught him doing something he wasn't supposed to," she added as she leaned against him.

"And I had just moved into town, I wasn't looking for a relationship at the time. We were hanging out whenever we were both off work and then…" Hayley trailed off.

Masen and Hayley stared at each other before they kissed. Eric was moving his thumb in circles over Taylor's hand. "How did you two meet?" Hayley asked smiling.

"I gave her a speeding ticket and then she helped me out with a job," Eric replied.

Hayley looked surprised while Masen was amused. "I'm really not surprised by that answer," he commented.

"She never told you?" Hayley asked.

"Taylor is very good at making sure her personal life is on a need to know basis," Masen replied.

Taylor shrugged her shoulders and Eric gave her hand another squeeze and then waitress came over to take their orders.

After the dinner, Taylor and Eric were walking together to her car. "Would an apology help?" he asked. Taylor gave his hand a squeeze.

"We had sex before dinner, I think it's safe to say I've forgiven you already." She replied.

Eric looked at her. Taylor wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him. His arms moved around her back, kissing her back. "Am I bringing you home?" Taylor muttered.

"Your house is closer." He replied.

Taylor gripped his shirt, pulling him towards her car. He happily followed her, getting in her car and she drove off.

Later the next morning, Taylor and Eric had finally just fallen asleep after making up for a lot of loss time. Eric's phone started ringing and he let out a frustrated breath. "Answer it," Taylor muttered against his shoulder.

"You answer it," he answered.

"Not my phone," she told him.

Eric rolled over and grabbed his phone. "There better be a dead body," he said into the phone.

"Well, good morning to you too, sunshine," Wes greeted.

"What do you want?" Eric asked.

"Well you're an hour late to our workout," Wes answered.

Eric looked at the clock and let out a breath. "That's not happening," he told his partner.

"Where are you?" Wes asked.

"Turtle Cove," Eric replied.

Taylor was moving her fingers up and down his back, making him smirk. "I'll talk to you later then," Wes told him before hanging up. Eric just chuckled and he put his phone back on the nightstand. He rolled over to look at Taylor. Taylor leaned in and kissed him. Kissing her back, he moved on top of her.

Later that week, it was late, really late. Eric got out of the truck, closing the door as he stared at the house. "What's going on?" Wes asked the father who was standing out on the front porch.

"Nothing, everything is fine," the father replied, glaring down at the girl.

Wes and Eric exchanged glances. The kid was obviously terrified. "I'm sorry, sir. But protocol states we need to sweep the house even if it's a false alarm, just to be safe. Eric, could you take the young lady to the truck? I think there should be some sweets in the glove compartment still." Eric nodded and gestured for the girl to follow him. She hopped into the passenger seat when Eric opened the door and produced said sweets for her.

"I'm sorry. I heard something in the house and got scared. Daddy wasn't supposed to be home tonight and mom is working too."

"That's okay, kid. It's what we're here for," Eric reassured her, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. He noticed the girl had kept one arm around her stomach since they'd arrived. "Are you okay? Is your stomach hurting?"

"A little. Mom gave me a hot water bottle and some aspirin before she went to work. Said it's probably period cramps. I haven't had it in a while, so that's why they're probably worse now."

"May I?" Eric asked kindly.

"Sure," the girl shrugged.

With slightly shaking hands Eric raised the girl's shirt a little and noticed the small wwell of her stomach. He barely managed to keep his composure.

"I need to make a phone call real quick. I'll be right back," he assured the girl.

Eric quickly texted Wes about his suspicions before calling 911. If he was right, this was past Guardians jurisdiction and the girl needed to get to hospital asap.

When the paramedics arrived, the girl was gripping Eric's hand. They could hear her father screaming and shouting as the cops were leading him away. Eric crouched in front of her. "You need to go with them okay?" he asked her. The girl nodded her head slowly, but he could tell she was scared. "You're safe," he assured her.

A woman paramedic held her hand out to the little girl and she gripped her hand, letting her get her on the gurney. Eric whispered something to the paramedic, she nodded and they got her into the ambulance. Once the doors were closed, the ambulance drove off and Eric let out a breath when Wes walked over to him. "You okay?" Wes asked.

"Just be glad the cops got to him first," Eric replied before walking to the SUV.

Eric got into the SUV and Wes got into the passenger's side before Eric started the truck up and drove off.

When Eric got home later on, he tossed his keys on the table and sat down on the couch with his head in his hands. He suddenly felt a hand move over his back and he looked up to see Taylor there wearing his t-shirt. She didn't say anything as she just sat next to him and moved her fingers through his hair.

Eric leaned back on the couch and Taylor was massaging his temples. She knew when he was having his bad days and those were days they barely spoke. He let out a deep breath, closing his eyes as she tried to massage the tension in his body. She didn't need to know what went on, just the fact he didn't come to the bedroom when he came home and she had heard him come home was enough for her.

Finally after a few minutes, Taylor tugged on his arm and Eric followed her to the room to try to sleep that night.


	21. Alyssa's Wedding

Chapter 21: Alyssa's Wedding

Alyssa was in her makeup chair as the hair stylist was doing her hair. "You look beautiful," her father said smiling. There was a knock on the door before it opened and Taylor slipped in.

"Sorry I'm late. I had to run by the base real quick this morning."

"That's okay," Alyssa smiled. "You're here now."

Taylor nodded and quickly disappeared behind the screen in the room to change into her dress so they could start on her hair and makeup. There was another knock on the door and Alyssa's father answered it. He had a quick conversation with Danny, before the Iron Bison returned to calm Cole's nerves. Alyssa's father whispered something in Alyssa's ear as Taylor sat down in the chair next to her.

Alyssa was sitting in her seat nervously, twisting her engagement ring around on her finger. "Um…Taylor…" she said slowly.

"Yeah?" Taylor answered as the hair stylist started brushing her hair.

"So…I know you and Eric have been going through something," Alyssa told her.

Taylor gave her a quizzical look. "Okay?" she said slowly.

"Look, he was invited to the wedding before... And he's here with Wes... Would you mind trying to be at least someone civil if you happen to run into him and not pick a fight today?" Alyssa begged gently.

The confusion turned into a small smile. "Don't worry, Alyssa, I'm not going to kill him on your wedding day," she replied. She could see her friend relax and Taylor held her hand with a reassuring smile.

The wedding was beautiful, Taylor watched as her two former teammates and closest friends vowed to love each other forever in front of all their friends and Alyssa's father, who was sitting proudly in his seat.

Eric and Wes sat in their seats, watching the service. Wes would playfully nudge Eric, but the Quantum Ranger would nudge his friend back a little harder. Sometimes he was annoying being a child.

Cole and Alyssa were pronounced husband and wife, they shared their kiss, before they went down the aisle to applauding guests. Taylor walked back down the aisle behind them and they went to the reception area.

At the reception hall, Taylor was sitting on her champagne watching as Cole and Alyssa were sharing their first dance together. Eric walked over and took a seat next to her. "How are you holding up?" he asked.

"I'm sick of pictures," she replied before draining her glass.

Eric rested his arm on the back of her chair. "They seem happy," he commented.

"That they do," she replied.

Eric started to playfully pull on her curls and she pulled her head away. "Don't, my head hurts. The hairdresser kept stabbing my head with the pins," she told him. Instead of answering, Eric just started pulling the bobby pins out of her hair and massaged the back of her head.

"Come on," he told her, pulling on her hand.

"What?" she asked.

"We are going to dance so come on," he replied, pulling her up.

Taylor entwined her fingers with his as she let him pull her to the dance floor right as a slow song started to play. Everyone stared as he moved one arm around her back and Taylor had her head resting on his shoulder as she had one arm wrapped around his shoulders. Eric was rubbing her back as she leaned into him a little more.

Max looked at Danny. "Well, I guess they made up," he commented.

"Looks like it," Danny agreed.

After the wedding, Taylor pulled up to her apartment and Eric got out first. "You going to be okay?" he asked.

"I'm just tired, Alyssa's wedding preparations just wore me out," Taylor replied as Eric opened her car door for her.

"Can you really be surprised?" he asked, a little amused.

"I'm really not," she replied, "She wanted the perfect big, white wedding."

Eric grabbed a hold of her hand and pulled her out of the car. "And I guess she got the wedding of her dreams so that's all that matters right?" she asked.

"Yep," he replied.

"Then this is why I never want to do that," she commented.

"Same," he agreed as they went into the apartment complex.

Taylor kicked off her heels once she was inside, then she turned around. "Unzip me please?" she asked. Eric did as she asked and she let the dress drop to the floor. She grabbed it and tossed it in her hamper before going into her room.

She walked back out wearing boxer shorts and a baggy Air Force t-shirt. Eric had changed out of his suit into a pair of sweatpants. They both fell back on the couch, tired but happy. "Surprised there weren't many questions shot at us," he commented.

"Probably because I would've killed Max," she replied as she laid her head on his lap.

Eric smirked as he dragged his fingers through her hair, massaging her scalp a little. She let out a breath, closing her eyes. "You going to live?" he asked.

"I might just pass out right here," she replied.

They were silent for a minute, until Taylor let out a laugh. "I'd so reward you for this massage but that would mean putting in effort," she commented, making him laugh.

"Hey, I had to dodge Wes all night with his own questions about when I'm finally making an honest woman out of you, I get it," he replied.

Taylor could almost gag at the idea. "Marriage, kids," she muttered, "Shit if I had to hear Alyssa babble to me about how she and Cole wanted five kids one more time I was going to lose it."

"What we have is good," he answered.

She nodded in agreement. "Practically perfect," she said with a smirk. Eric grabbed the remote and turned on the television.

"What's your pleasure?" he asked.

"Anything but a romantic comedy," she replied.

Eric flipped on a basketball game. "Perfect," she told him.

"I bet ten on the California Bears," he answered.

"Bullshit, my house I'm taking the California Bears," she told him.

Eric smirked as they watched the game in silence before they both fell asleep on the couch. Both not noticing that their phones were going off with text messages from their friends wanting to know what the hell had happened at the wedding. It was something they would deal with in the morning.


	22. A Year Later

Chapter 22: A Year Later

Taylor let out a sigh as she was sitting in the coffee shop waiting for Alyssa. Apparently after this, she had to go visit Eric at SGH because he had something to tell her. She looked up when the door opened and Alyssa rushed in. "Sorry!" she called out, "Traffic was…"

"Tell me about it," Taylor answered as Alyssa sat across from her.

"Did you get something already?" Alyssa asked.

Taylor looked at the cup that was in her hand. "Nope, I'm just holding this for someone," she quipped, showing her the cup. Alyssa's cheeks flushed.

"My mind has also been everywhere," she added.

"How's married life for you?" Taylor asked.

"I love every bit of it," Alyssa replied, "You should do it."

Taylor scoffed. "Yeah, doubt it," she commented. Alyssa frowned.

"You and Eric never talked about it?" she asked.

"Eric and I are not the "marriage" types, Alyssa. What we have is good," Taylor replied, "No expectations, no disappointments."

Taylor went to take a drink of her coffee. "What about kids?" Alyssa asked. The former Yellow Ranger almost started to choke and she put her cup down as she started coughing. "I take it that's a 'no' too?" Alyssa asked.

"That's a 'hell no'," Taylor replied as she got her breath back.

Alyssa frowned. "I'm not the mommy kind, Alyssa," she insisted.

"Well…that's disappointing," Alyssa replied.

"Why?" Taylor asked, "I'm not saying you shouldn't have kids. You and Cole go off, have a whole bunch of little Evans babies."

Alyssa was silent as she started playing with the napkin holder in front of her. Taylor then realized what Alyssa was trying to say. "Oh…you are?" she asked.

"It's kind of why I asked you to meet me here," Alyssa replied.

A smile appeared on the blonde's face. "Well that's wonderful for you," she assured her, standing up. Alyssa stood up too and the two women embraced. "Congratulations," she added.

"Thank you," Alyssa replied.

"How far along are you?" Taylor asked

"Twelve weeks, we wanted to wait until we got past the first trimester," Alyssa replied.

Taylor nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm happy for you," she said. Alyssa smiled.

"Thank you," Alyssa answered.

Taylor reached over and rested her hand over hers and Alyssa gave her friend's hand a squeeze. "It's just sad, I always thought you and I would have kids that would grow up and play together," Alyssa added.

"I have nothing against kids, I just don't want them," Taylor replied.

"What about Eric?" Alyssa asked.

"He's on the same page as me, his reasons are he hasn't really had a good role model to even know where to start at being a dad," Taylor replied.

Alyssa took a sip of her tea. "So you two are quite okay with the whole boyfriend and girlfriend forever kind of deal?" she asked.

"We don't like using labels," Taylor replied.

"So what do you say?" she asked.

"I'm his woman and he's my man," Taylor replied with a shrug, "We're just together and it works. There's no expectations, no disappointments."

Alyssa took another sip of her tea. "And you're happy?" she asked. Taylor raised a brow.

"Of course I am," she replied.

"Well that's the important thing isn't it?" Alyssa asked smiling.

Taylor smiled back. "So how does Cole feel about being a father?" she asked. Alyssa's face brightened up again.

"He's so excited!" she answered happily.

Taylor smiled as Alyssa started talking about all the things Cole was already doing for the baby and she wouldn't have this conversation any other way.

Later, Taylor got out of her car once she arrived at the SGH and swung her keys around on her finger as she walked up to the building. The guard at the door looked up. "Who are you here to see?" he asked.

"Commander Myers," she replied, showing him her Air Force ID.

The guard was signing her in. "Brad, I think at this point you can just greet me by my name," she commented, making the guard smirk.

"Well I do see you just as much as I see my bosses," he agreed as he handed her the visitor's badge.

Taylor smiled before she entered the building.

Making her way down the hall, Taylor reached Eric's door and knocked.

Eric was in the middle of some paperwork when he heard the knock. "Yeah?" he called out. The door opened and Eric looked up to see Taylor poking her head in. "Hey, come in," he said as he stood up.

"I think this is the first time I have ever seen you sit down here," Taylor commented.

"Yeah well, Wes is being a pest about paperwork," he replied.

Taylor smirked as he grabbed her hand and pulled her close. She draped her arms over his shoulders. "So, what did you call me over here for?" she asked.

"Can I enjoy the moment first before telling you?" he asked as he rested his arms around her waist.

Taylor quirked a brow. "What's going on, Myers?" she asked as she stood back, crossing her arms. Eric let out a sigh as he stood up straight again.

"Mr. Collins has one of his annual parties and he's insisting I come," he answered, "Since I'm Co-Commander of the Silver Guardians, he said it's my duty to be social."

Taylor just smirked a little. "And now you need a date," she concluded.

"Yeah," he replied, "And I'll owe you for it."

"You most certainly will," she agreed.

Taylor pulled her phone out of her pocket. "I'll just text Alyssa and we can go out later and find me something to wear. This way she can also get her chance to go baby clothes shopping like she wanted," She added.

"Baby clothes?" he asked.

Looking up, she saw the expression on his face. "Not me," she said rolling her eyes. She heard him sigh in relief as she went back to finishing her text. "No, Alyssa just told me she and Cole are expecting," she added.

"Well, good for them," Eric answered.

"Even though Alyssa was asking about us," She commented as she put her phone away.

"What about us?" he asked, "Things are good why change anything?"

"That's what I basically said," she replied.

Eric walked around his desk and grabbed his phone when he heard it buzz. "I was going to ask if you were starting to change your mind on me," He commented.

"Uh no, no way am I ever going to be a mother. Look who my role model was," she answered.

Eric shuddered remembering her mother. "And I never had much of a parental role model in my life," he stated. Taylor walked over and she ran her fingers over the back of his neck and made him look up. "I've got all that I need," he added, making her smile softly.

"As do I," she answered.

She gave him a quick kiss. "Alright, I have to go meet with Alyssa and I'll get ready at your place tonight," she explained as she walked away.

"The gathering starts at seven," he called out to her.

"I'll be at your place at five then," She answered.

"Earhardt," Eric said, making her stop and look at him, "Thanks."

"You still owe me," she answered with a wink and then left.

Eric shook his head slowly and sat at his desk to get back to work.

When five o'clock came around, Eric heard her walk up the porch to his house. "It's open!" he called out as he finished feeding his birds. Taylor entered the house with a dress bag.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he answered.

"Apparently Mr. Collins had a feeling I'd be coming tonight because I found this at my house," Taylor commented as she held up the bag.

"He sent over my suit too," Eric replied as he closed the cage door.

"How did he get my size is my question," Taylor commented as she went to the bathroom to get ready.

"Most likely called Alyssa ahead of time and asked," Eric replied.

Taylor turned on the shower. "Let me in," he called from the other side of the door.

"Why? I'm getting ready to take a shower," she answered.

"I need one too," he told her.

Taylor rolled her eyes, but she opened the door. "You're bad," she answered.

"Yeah and you wouldn't want it any other way," he said as he pulled her in.

"Nope," she replied, her arms moving around his neck as he lifted her up and closed the door behind him.


End file.
